Dhaka ranked fifth on the global list of cities with the worst air quality this morning.

The air in Dhaka city was classified as 'unhealthy' with an AQI score of 174 at 10:55am.

India's Delhi, Pakistan's Lahore and Karachi occupied the first, second and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 562, 313 and 193, respectively.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', while 201–300 is 'very unhealthy', and 301+ is 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents.

The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.

The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.

Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.