Dhaka’s air quality remained in the 'very unhealthy' zone on Friday morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 227 at 8:57 am, the capital of Bangladesh ranked second in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality, according to IQAir. Kolkata and Pakistan’s Karachi occupied the first and third spots, with AQI of 274 and 177 respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups, and an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Navalsang Parmar
