This morning, the air in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is “unhealthy.” At 9:40 am, Dhaka had the fourth-worst air quality in the world, with a score of 200 on the air quality index.
An AQI of 151 to 200 is deemed “unhealthy,” 201 to 300 is deemed “extremely unhealthy,” and 301 to 400 is deemed “hazardous,” offering significant health hazards to locals.
The top three cities were all in South Asia: Afghanistan’s Kabul, Pakistan’s Lahore, and India’s Mumbai, with AQI scores of 225, 220, and 209, respectively.
The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five criterion pollutants: ozone, NO2, CO, SO2, and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5).
Air pollution has always been a problem in Dhaka. Winter is often when the air quality deteriorates, and monsoon season is when it gets better.
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution kills an estimated seven million people year throughout the world, primarily due to a rise in fatal conditions such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute respiratory infections.
