<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Dhaka's air quality was marked as ‘moderate’ this morning (September 25, 2023).</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 94 at 9:15 am, Dhaka ranked 9th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pakistan’s Karachi, India’s Delhi and Jakarta of Indonesia occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 165, 161 and 146, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with an acceptable air quality. However, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>