Dhaka ranks fourth in poor air quality, Kolkata second

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka has ranked fourth for poor air in Air Quality Index (AQI) on Sunday.

The independent live air-quality index monitor, Air Visual, shows Dhaka’s AQI value as 172 around 0940 hrs.

Thailand’s Chiang Mai topped the list with an AQI score of 179 while Myanmar’s Yangon and India’s Kolkata stood second and third in the list of poor air cities with AQI values 176 and 173 respectively.

Dhaka topped the worst air city list multiple times this month including 9, 14, 18, 19, 24 and 25 February. It had also ranked the worst earlier on 17 and 23 November, 26 December and 6, 29, 31 January. The city has been continuously staying within the five most polluted cities around the world.

The AQI is a tool for measuring daily air quality of any city or country. It refers to the degree of pollution or cleanliness of the air. An AQI score between 201 and 300 indicates the air is unhealthy while a value over 300 refers the air is highly dangerous with possible serious health complications.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants including Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone (O3).

The environment department has also set national ambient air quality standards for these pollutants. These standards aim to protect against adverse human health impacts.

Dhaka has been suffering for long time from a number of environmental pollution including that of air. (UNI)