Dhaka air too ‘unhealthy’

Dhaka continues to gasp for fresh air as the city ranks the fourth most polluted city. Dhaka's air quality index (AQI) score was recorded at 197 at 10am yesterday, which is considered "unhealthy".

Dubai, Lahore and Delhi occupied the top three spots with AQI scores of 751, 326, and 305, respectively, in the latest list of cities considered 'hazardous' in terms of air.

AQI is an index used by government agencies to inform people about their city's air quality and associated health factors of concern.

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

A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Bank in March 2019 pointed out that as a city struggling with air quality, the three main sources of Dhaka's air pollution "are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles and dust from construction sites".

In winter, the city's air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction works, rundown roads, brick kilns and others.

Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.