Dhaka's air quality has worsened again. It turned "unhealthy" today (July 5, 2022) after remaining in the "moderate" zone for the last four days, according to Air Quality Index (AQI).

Dhaka, with an AQI score of 113 at 11:05am today, ranked 14th in the list of world cities with worst air quality.

South Africa's Johannesburg, Pakistan's Lahore and Saudi Arabia's Riyadh occupied the top three spots, with AQI scores of 166, 163, and 161, respectively.

An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered "unhealthy", particularly for sensitive groups.

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Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be "poor", while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered "hazardous", posing serious health risks to residents.

AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants – Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.