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Dhaka //

Among the 120 cities of the world, the capital Dhaka is at the top in terms of air pollution. At around 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, Dhaka’s position was 278 in the air quality index of IQAir, a Swiss-based air quality monitoring technology company. This air quality is considered as ‘very unhealthy’.

According to the Air Quality Index-AQI, Lahore in Pakistan ranks after Dhaka, with a score of 177. India’s Delhi is at the third position with a score of 167.

In Dhaka last January, the city dwellers spent the maximum number of days in the inclement weather. The capital’s air quality was poor for a total of nine days in January, the highest in seven years.

IQAir regularly publishes lists of cities with air pollution. The AQI Index, based on daily air quality, gives people information about how clean or polluted the air in a particular city is and whether they may pose any health risks.

AQI is determined based on five types of pollution – particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and ozone (O3).

Experts say that if the amount of particulate matter (ppm) in the air is between zero and 50, then the air quality index (AQI) can be called ‘good’. If this level is 51-100, the air is considered to be of ‘moderate’ quality and if it is 101-150, it is considered to be in the ‘danger range’. And when the PPM is 151-200, the air is called ‘unhealthy’, when it is 201-300 it is ‘very unhealthy’ and when it is 301-500 it is called ‘dangerous’.

Air pollution poses serious health risks. Harmful to people of all ages. However, air pollution is very harmful for children, sick people, elderly and pregnant women.

Dhaka has been suffering from air pollution for a long time. Its air quality generally becomes unhealthy during winters and improves slightly during monsoons.

According to a March 2019 report by the Department of Environment and the World Bank, the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka are brick kilns, vehicle fumes and dust from construction sites.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution has increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. As a result, approximately 7 million people die worldwide each year.