Around 10 am today, Dhaka is ranked fifth among 100 cities in the world in terms of air pollution. Dhaka scores 154 in IQAir’s air quality index at this time. This quality of air is considered ‘unhealthy’.

Since morning, the capital has been hot and sunny. Added to this is unhealthy air. It rained yesterday afternoon. It lowers the temperature a bit. But today it is hot again.

IQAir, a Switzerland-based organization, regularly highlights the situation of air pollution. This live or instant indicator of air quality informs and alerts people about how clean or polluted the air is in a particular city.

Around 10 am this morning, Karachi, Pakistan, ranks first in air pollution in the world. The city scores 168 on IQAir’s index. Second place is Kathmandu in Nepal. The city has a score of 165.

According to the IQAir criteria, a score of 51 to 100 is considered ‘moderate’ or ‘acceptable’ air quality. A score of 101 to 150 is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’. A score of 151 to 200 is ‘unhealthy’ air. A score of 201 to 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’ air. A score of 301 and above is considered ‘disastrous’ or ‘risky’.