Dhaka air 3rd most polluted in the world: AQI

Air pollution still remains one of the top-most challenges for Bangladesh. Capital city Dhaka's air has been ranked the third most polluted in the world this morning (August 2, 2022).

Today Dhaka's air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 161 at 10:40 am. The air was classified as "unhealthy".

Chile's Santiago and Pakistan's Lahore occupied the first and second spots in the list with AQI scores of 164 and 162, respectively.

An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered "unhealthy", particularly for sensitive groups.

Similarly, 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.