Dhaka’s air 5th worst in the world this morning

Dhaka's air continues to be 'unhealthy' as it ranked fifth on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality today.

The air quality index (AQI) score of Dhaka was recorded at 152 at 9:00am.

Vietnam's Hanoi, Pakistan's Lahore and Democratic Republic of the Congo's Kinshasa occupied the first, second and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 175, 169 and 161, respectively.

An AQI between 101 and 150 indicates air quality that is 'unhealthy' for sensitive groups, including young children, older adults, and those with respiratory illnesses, between 150 and 200 is 'unhealthy', between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous'.

The Bangladesh AQI considers five major pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone.

Dhaka has a long history of struggling with air pollution. The city's air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.

As per 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.