AQI: Dhaka air ranks third worst in world on Tuesday

Bangladesh's densely populated capital Dhaka ranked as the city with the third-worst air quality globally, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 244 at 8:50am on Tuesday.

Today’s air was very unhealthy, referring to a severe health threat, according to the AQI index.

When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 50 and 100, air quality is considered moderate, between 101 and 150, air quality is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, between 150 and 200 is unhealthy, between 201 and 300 is said to be very unhealthy, and a reading of 301+ is considered hazardous, posing serious health risks to residents.

Bosnia Herzegovina's Sarajevo, Vietnam's Hanoi and India's Delhi occupied the first, second and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 488, 259 and 228 respectively.

The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.

The AQI in Bangladesh 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.

Per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.