Dhaka ranks 7th among world’s most polluted cities

Dhaka ranked seventh among the world’s most polluted cities on Saturday morning, recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 153 at 10:06am.

The city’s air quality was classified as “unhealthy”, indicating that exposure could pose health risks to the general population, according to the AQI scale.

Malaysia’s Kuching topped the list with an AQI score of 192, followed by Uganda’s Kampala at 172 and India’s Kolkata at 163.

Under the AQI scale, readings of 101-150 are considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, while 151-200 is classified as “unhealthy”. A reading of 201-300 is considered “very unhealthy”, while levels above 301 are classified as “hazardous” and pose serious health risks.

The AQI provides information on how clean or polluted the air is and indicates the potential health effects associated with different levels of air pollution.

In Bangladesh, AQI calculations are based on five major pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone.

Dhaka has long struggled with severe air pollution, with air quality typically deteriorating during the winter and improving during the monsoon season.

The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes around seven million deaths worldwide each year, primarily through stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.