Dhaka,
May 28 (UNB)-Dhaka's air quality has turned "good" due to the
incessant rain triggered by Cyclone Remal.
With an air quality
index (AQI) score of 38 at 9 am this morning, Dhaka ranked 77th on the list of
cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
When the AQI score is
between 0 and 50, air quality is considered to be 'good', while between 50 and
100 is 'moderate', between 101 and 150 'unhealthy for sensitive groups',
between 151 and 200 is 'unhealthy', between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very
unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious
health risks to residents.
India's Delhi,
Indonesia's Jakarta, and Pakistan's Lahore occupied the first three spots on
the list, with AQI scores of 216, 173 and 162, respectively.
AQI, an index for
reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people
how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health
effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI
is based on five criteria 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.
With the advent of
winter, the city's air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive
discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick
kilns, and other sources.
Air pollution
consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability
worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognized as increasing a
person's chances of developing heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases,
lung infections, and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health
Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people
worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke,
heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute
respiratory infections.
END/UNB/PR/KW