Shawdesh Desk:

Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka ranked the worst in the Air Quality Index (AQI) and it was classified as hazardous on Sunday morning.

It imposes a health warning of emergency conditions for all.

Dhaka had an AQI score of 339 at 07:54am. The air was classified as ‘hazardous’.

China’s Beijing and Kuwait’s Kuwait city occupied the second and third spots in the list of cities with the worst air quality with AQI scores of 176 and 164 respectively.

When the AQI value is more than 301, it is a health warning of emergency conditions and everyone is likely to be affected.

The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs 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 (O3).

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

Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution. Its air quality usually improves during monsoon.