The air quality of capital city Dhaka has been at 'very unhealthy' level for almost two weeks recently. Dhaka ranked first among 110 cities in the world in terms of air pollution on last Tuesday morning.
At that time Dhaka's score was 289 in the air quality index (AQI) of Switzerland-based organization IQAir. This air quality is considered as 'very unhealthy'.
Earlier, the capital's air quality remained at very unhealthy levels for 11 consecutive days. In terms of air pollution, Dhaka has been at the top of the list of the world's most polluted cities at some point of the day for quite some time.
The air quality was last improved to 'unhealthy' at 9 pm on Wednesday. This live air quality indicator provides information and alerts on how clean or polluted air is in a particular city.
Dhaka was ranked 5th in the AQI index on Wednesday evening. The score was 198.
Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina was first in the list, Kolkata in India second, New Delhi third, Lahore in Pakistan was fourth. Dhaka was in the fifth position followed by China's Wuhan, Pakistan's Karachi, North Macedonia's Skopje, Serbia's Belgrade and Iraq's Baghdad.
San Francisco, California, USA is at number 110 on the list with zero score.
Dhaka's position in AQI index was sixth and the score was 182 at 12 noon on last Monday. This quality of air is considered as 'unhealthy'.
According to the air quality index, a score of 51 to 100 is 'moderate' or 'acceptable' air quality. A score of 101 to 150 is considered 'unhealthy for sensitive groups'.
A score of 151 to 200 is 'unhealthy' air. A score of 201 to 300 is considered 'very unhealthy' air. A score above 301 is considered 'disastrous' or 'risky'.
Air pollution is responsible for many health problems including respiratory diseases, cancer. The elderly persons, children, pregnant women and people suffering from complex diseases are most at risk if the level of pollution is high.
In January this year, the Dhaka city dwellers spent the most number of days in the inclement weather. The capital's air quality was poor for a total of 9 days in January, the highest in the last seven years.
Generally, air pollution decreases slightly when it rains. However, in the middle of this year, after the rains in Dhaka, the air pollution decreased, but the pollution increased within a day.