Air quality in Bangladesh: where to check and what to do

Short answer. Bangladesh's Department of Environment (DoE) publishes a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) report for 26 locations, on a six-level scale from Good (0-50) to Hazardous (301 and above) ¹. On 11 November 2026, Dhaka read 137, "Unhealthy for Sensitive Group", driven by PM2.5 ¹. Phaenyx found no official pollution alert system.

Where can I check air quality right now?

On the DoE website, which posts a Daily Air Quality Index Report the following day ¹. The report of 12 November 2026 covered 26 locations, from Dhaka and Chattogram to Cox's Bazar, Rampal and Shyamnagar, each with its AQI, the pollutant responsible and the category ¹. Dhaka's value is the average of 3 CAMS and 2 C-CAMS monitoring stations ¹.

What do the index levels mean?

The AQI Scheme for Bangladesh ¹:

The DoE report gives no official advice per level. For what each level usually means, see Air quality index explained.

How polluted is the air on average?

Very. The population-weighted median of Bangladeshi cities shows about 77 µg/m³ of PM2.5 (annual mean 2021-2023) ², more than fifteen times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ ³. Nitrogen dioxide is about 22.8 µg/m³ ⁴, above the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m³ ³. That NO2 figure is a regional background over roughly 80 km: a busy street in Dhaka will be higher.

What should I do on a bad air day?

Phaenyx found no official Bangladeshi advice per AQI level and no national pollution alert. For an earthquake, the Department of Disaster Management asks households to keep a dust mask at home ⁵. Read A clean-air room at home, Masks for smoke, Pollution episodes, Sensitive people and polluted air and Children and polluted air. A household plan can note who at home is sensitive to polluted air.

Frequently asked questions

What AQI is "good" in Bangladesh?

0 to 50 on the DoE scale; 51 to 100 is Moderate ¹.

Which pollutant drives Bangladesh's AQI?

In the DoE report of 12 November 2026, PM2.5 was the responsible pollutant in every city with data ¹.

Who publishes official air quality data?

The Department of Environment, in a daily AQI report ¹.

Preparedness index: Bangladesh ranks 54th of 67, 44.5/100 · full ranking