Dhaka’s air quality turns ‘moderate’
Dhaka has seen a significant improvement in its air quality this week due to nor'westers, seasonal showers as well as fewer people on the city roads owing to Eid holidays.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 86, categorised as "moderate", at 12:00am yesterday, the city ranked 16th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It's used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted their city's air is, and what associated health effects might they have. An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', between 201 and 300 is considered 'poor' and reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
India's Delhi, the UAE's Dubai and Chile's Santiago occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 180, 172 and 162, respectively.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five pollutants -- particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
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