Dhaka Fourth Among World’s Most Polluted Cities as Air Quality Turns ‘Unhealthy’

With the concentration of harmful dust particles rising in the air, Dhaka today stands fourth on the list of cities with the most polluted air in the world. The city’s air quality index is 196, which is marked as ‘unhealthy’.

According to data from IQAir, the international air quality monitoring organisation, Dhaka’s air quality index, or AQI score, was 196 at around 9 am on Saturday (7 November). The megacity stands fourth on the list of the world’s most polluted cities.

At the same time, India’s capital New Delhi stands first on the list of polluted cities, with a score of 529. Pakistan’s Lahore stands second with a score of 275. The scores of both these cities are very unhealthy.

Kolkata in India and Kabul in Afghanistan stand third and fifth on the list of polluted cities, with scores of 236 and 168 respectively. The scores of these two cities are very unhealthy and unhealthy for sensitive groups.

The air quality scores of the other cities in the top ten for polluted air range between 99 and 160.

According to the international air quality index, an AQI score of zero to 50 is considered ‘good’. A score of 51 to 100 is considered ‘moderate’, and 101 to 150 is regarded as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’. A score of 151 to 200 is generally counted as ‘unhealthy’.

An AQI score between 201 and 300 is called ‘very unhealthy’, and when it reaches between 301 and 400 it is considered ‘hazardous’.

In such conditions, health experts advise children, the elderly and sick people to stay indoors, and others to limit their outdoor activities.