Shawdesh Desk:

Dhaka’s air quality has been identified as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ on Thursday morning.

With an Air Quality Index score of 144 at 8:55am, Dhaka ranked 8th in the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality.

Thailand’s Chiang Mai, Nepal’s Kathmandu and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 202, 187 and 164, 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’, and 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 grappled with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in the winter and improves during the monsoon.