Dhaka air most polluted in the world

The air quality of densely populated Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka continued to be in the 'very unhealthy' zone on Monday morning.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 267 at 8:30 on Monday , Dhaka ranked first in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air.

India’s Delhi and Vietnam’s Hanoi occupied the second and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 190 and 188, respectively.

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 winter and improves during the monsoon.

Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.