Desk Report
Publish: 25 May 2022, 12:02 pm
Representational Image || File Photo
Though Dhaka is no longer the world's most polluted city,
its air quality continues to be 'unhealthy'.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 105 at 9.30 am on
Wednesday, the metropolis ranked 14th on the list of world cities with the
worst air quality.
The UAE’s Dubai, Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, Iran’s Tehran, and
India’s Delhi occupied the first fourth spots, with AQI scores of 302, 259, 224, and 176, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly
for sensitive groups.
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor',
while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health
risks to residents.
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.
A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the
World Bank in March 2019 pointed out that the three main sources of air
pollution in Dhaka "are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles, and dust from
construction sites".
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.
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Topic : Air quality index AQI Dhaka Bangladesh Air Pollution
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