Greetings and welcome to your Monday, January 22, 2024 weather report. I'm here to give you the most recent information on the state of the air in various cities,
focusing on Dhaka and the surrounding areas. At 9:02 am this morning, Dhaka's air quality index (AQI) score of 191 placed it sixth out of all cities in the world with the worst air quality.

The top three places on the list were held by Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Delhi in India, and Accra in Ghana, with AQI scores of 323, 241, and 227, respectively.

The Air Quality Index (AQI), which provides information on possible health effects for locals, is essential for communicating the daily air quality in a given city. The air is considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups" when the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, and "unhealthy" conditions are indicated by readings between 150 and 200. An AQI score of 201 to 300 means "very unhealthy" air quality, and scores above 300 are deemed "hazardous," indicating severe health risks. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution kills almost seven million people yearly. This is primarily because of the increased mortality from lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, acute respiratory infections, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The air quality in Dhaka has long been a problem, and it worsens in the winter. At 168 g/m, Dhaka's PM2.5 level is 6.72 times higher than the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended threshold.