Shawdesh Desk:

Dhaka’s air ranked as 8th most polluted in the world on Wednesday morning as per the Air Quality Index.

The air in Dhaka was categorised as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, with an AQI score of 126 at 9:00am.

India’s Delhi, Pakistan’s Lahore and Taiwan’s Kaohsiung occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 180, 169, and 159, respectively.

When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 151 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 301 and above is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.

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 the winter and improves during the monsoon.