Record after record covered in polluted air. Dhaka’s air quality was ‘very unhealthy’ on Saturday morning. According to IQAir, a Switzerland-based organization that monitors global air quality, Dhaka was at the top among 110 cities in the world in terms of air pollution at 9 am today.
Dhaka’s score was 235 in IQAir’s air quality index at that time. This score is considered ‘very unhealthy’. Earlier on Friday at 9 am, Dhaka’s position was third in this index. The score was 184. This score is considered ‘unhealthy’.
Myanmar’s Yangon was ranked second after Dhaka in air pollution in the world on Saturday. The city has a score of 189. And Iraq’s Baghdad was in the third position with a score of 185.
IQAir informs and alerts people about how clean or polluted a particular city’s air is in its live air quality index. Due to the air pollution situation in Dhaka, IQAir has advised people to wear masks when going out.
According to IQAir data, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is the main source of air pollution in Dhaka. The amount of PM 2.5 in Dhaka’s air is much higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. People in sensitive groups are most at risk when air pollution is high. Among them are the elderly, children, pregnant women and people suffering from complex diseases. Experts advise that they need to be especially careful.
According to the IQAir criteria, a score of 51 to 100 is considered ‘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 of 301 and above is considered ‘risky’ or ‘disastrous’.
