<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>As the heatwave severely impacts public life, with an air quality index (AQI) score of 158 at 9:40 am today (April 17, 2023), Dhaka ranked 5th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">India’s Delhi, Nepal’s Kathmandu and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 228, 198 and 165, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered 'unhealthy', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.</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, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>