Dhaka's air 'unhealthy' today, sixth on the world's most polluted cities list
Dhaka ranks sixth today among 126 cities on the list of the world's most polluted cities. With a score of 158 on the Air Quality Index (IQAir), Dhaka's air has been marked 'unhealthy'.
These figures came on Thursday (12 November) from the index of Switzerland-based air quality monitoring organisation IQAir.
At the top of the world's polluted-air city list is Lahore in Pakistan, with an air quality score of 344. Air of this quality is considered 'hazardous' for residents.
In second place is India's capital New Delhi, with a score of 284. Third is Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar, with a score of 169. Algiers, the capital of Algeria, is fourth with 167, and China's Beijing, in fifth place, has a score of 166.
Under IQAir's standards, a score between zero and 50 is considered 'good'. A score of 51 to 100 is treated as 'moderate or acceptable'.
A score of 101 to 150 is considered 'unhealthy for sensitive groups'. A score of 151 to 200 is 'unhealthy', 201 to 300 is 'very unhealthy', and a score above 301 is considered 'hazardous'. On that scale, Dhaka's 158 falls in the 'unhealthy' range.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is determined on the basis of five pollution features: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and ozone (O3).
A March 2019 report by the Department of Environment and the World Bank noted that the three main sources of Dhaka's air pollution are brick kilns, vehicle emissions and dust from construction sites.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution has increased deaths from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. An estimated 7 million people die worldwide every year as a result.
