Rainfall in the capital on Saturday morning brought a welcome change to Dhaka’s air quality, marking it as “good” for the day.

With an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 50 at 9:01am, the city ranked 84th on the list of world cities with the worst air quality.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kinshasa, Indonesia’s Jakarta, and Bahrain’s Manama topped the list, with AQI scores of 158, 157, and 139, respectively.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good,” 51–100 “moderate,” and 101–200 “unhealthy” for sensitive groups. Scores from 201–300 are deemed “poor,” while readings above 300 are “hazardous,” posing serious health risks.

In Bangladesh, AQI is calculated based on five pollutants – PM10, PM2.5, NO₂, CO, SO₂, and Ozone. Dhaka’s air typically turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes around seven million premature deaths globally each year, mostly from heart disease, stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.

MN/