Dhaka air quality 'unhealthy' on Saturday, mobile courts deployed

The capital ranks 11th worst globally in terms of air pollution

Dhaka's air quality ranked the 11th worst globally on Saturday as the city continued to grapple with “unhealthy” pollution levels, according to the Air Quality Index, or AQI.

Despite being a weekend, the city's AQI score stood at 177 at 11:30am.

Earlier in the morning, the score was 174 at 9am and rose slightly to 176 by 10am, according to data published by the US Embassy in Dhaka.

The situation was worse on Friday night, with the AQI score peaking at 249 at 11pm, categorising it as “very unhealthy.”

The levels gradually declined overnight, dropping to 192 at 4am on Saturday, 177 at 7am, and eventually settling at 176 by 10am.

Real-time updates from the Department of Environment, or DoE, were hindered due to a two-hour server outage caused by a power cut at its Agargaon office starting at 8am.

DoE Deputy Director Mohammad Abdul Motalib told bdnews24.com: "The server was down because of a power outage in Agargaon. Updates will be available once power is restored around 4pm."

The AQI data shows that neighbouring cities like India’s New Delhi and Nepal’s Kathmandu recorded worse pollution levels.

Wuhan in China topped the global list with an AQI score of 271.

Air quality typically worsens during winter due to increased construction activities, brick kilns in operation, and the movement of unfit vehicles.

Motalib highlighted that combating air pollution requires a concerted effort.

"The environment ministry has formed a task force to address pollution. Around 10 to 15 mobile courts are operating nationwide, imposing fines and raising awareness," he said.

The mobile courts aim to identify and mitigate visible causes of air pollution, such as improper transport of sand and cement, he added.

The AQI scale classifies air quality from 0 to 50 as “good,” 51 to 100 as “moderate,” and 101 to 150 as “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Scores between 151 and 200 are deemed “unhealthy,” while 201 to 300 are categorised as “very unhealthy,” posing risks to all individuals.