The air quality of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka has seen some improvement.
Dhaka scored 93 in the US Air Quality Index (AQI) on Thursday. The air was classified as “moderate.”
AQI was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency for reporting daily air quality of any city or country.
Turkey’s Ankara and India’s Delhi occupied the top two spots with individual scores of 429 and 170 respectively, according to AirVisual, which shows real-time air pollution index of any city.
Bangladesh, one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, has been struggling with air pollution for a long time, while Dhaka has continued to rank among the most polluted cities.
Brick kilns, vehicles run by fuels with higher level sulphur, as well as construction works have been identified as major sources of air pollution.
The air quality further declines during the dry months – from October to April – but improves in the monsoon.
The situation is very serious, experts say, pointing out that five of the top 10 causes of deaths in Bangladesh are related to air pollution.
The AQI is divided into six categories, indicating increasing levels of health concern. An AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality, and below 50 the air quality is good.
