At 8:53 am today (10 August), Dhaka registered a concerning air quality index (AQI) score of 152, positioning itself as the third city globally with the most deteriorated air quality. The top spots were secured by Baghdad in Iraq, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, holding AQI readings of 161, 160, and 151 respectively.
The AQI scale categorizes air quality levels, where a score between 50 and 100 falls within the ‘moderate’ range, representing acceptable air quality. However, even within this range, a small subset of individuals with heightened sensitivity to pollution might experience health concerns. When the AQI ranges between 101 and 150, it is deemed ‘unhealthy’, escalating to ‘very unhealthy’ between 201 and 300, and exceeding 301, it enters the ‘hazardous’ category, posing severe health risks to the population.
The AQI serves as a valuable indicator of daily air quality, informing residents about the cleanliness or pollution levels in their city and outlining potential health implications. In Bangladesh, the AQI assessment hinges on five key pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone.
