Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the ‘moderate’ zone this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 95 at 9:10 am, Dhaka ranked 10th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
Kuwait's Kuwait City, Indonesia's Jakarta, Iraq's Baghdad and Qatar's Doha occupied the first four spots on the list, with AQI scores of 169, 166, 165 and 160, respectively.
Read: Lack of awareness a serious risk on pollution: CPD
An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with acceptable air quality. However, there may be a health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Read: Urgent, coordinated actions needed to curb air pollution in South Asia: World Bank
Dhaka has long grappled with air pollution issues. Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.