<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>With winter inching closer, Dhaka’s air quality continues to be in the 'unhealthy' zone.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>With an air quality index (AQI) score of 144 at 8.50am on Saturday, the metropolis ranked eighth in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.</div><div><br></div><div>India’s Delhi, and Pakistan’s Karachi and Lahore occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 213, 183 and 183, respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon. UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div><div><br></div>