Photo: Collected
Air pollution levels in cities around the world keep rising day by day. Against this backdrop, Kolkata in India has risen to the top in air pollution among 126 countries of the world, while the capital Dhaka is in sixth position on the list.
According to the air quality index published by Switzerland-based organisation IQAir at 8:38am on Sunday, the air quality of top-ranked Kolkata is 187, which falls in the ‘unhealthy’ category.
Singapore has moved up to second position with a score of 184; the air of this city is also ‘unhealthy’. Vietnam’s Hanoi is in third position on the list with a score of 178.
Today the air quality of Jakarta in Indonesia is 173, meaning the air there is also ‘unhealthy’. Lahore in Pakistan is in fifth position on this list of polluted cities with a score of 167, while Dhaka has moved up to sixth position with a score of 166.
By IQAir’s standards, air quality is considered good if the score is between zero and 50, while a score of 51 to 100 is taken as moderate or tolerable.
A score of 101 to 150 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. A score from 151 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 is very unhealthy, and anything above 301 is considered hazardous.
