Published on 10:19 AM, August 04, 2022

Dhaka air 3rd most polluted in the world today: AQI

Kuwait City, Jakarta occupy first 2 spots

File photo: Anisur Rahman

Dhaka's air has been ranked the third most polluted in the world this morning (August 4, 2022).

Today Dhaka's air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 152 at 8:22 am. The air was classified as "unhealthy".

Kuwait's Kuwait City and Indonesia's Jakarta occupied the first two spots, with AQI scores of 160 and 155, 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.