<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Dhaka's air quality was marked "unhealthy for sensitive groups" on Wednesday morning in spite of rain in the capital city.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 112 at 8:50 am, Dhaka ranked 10th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dhaka residents on Tuesday experienced a relief after a long time as heavy showers drenched the city amid a scorching heat. But it had little impact on air quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Africa’s Johannesburg, Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Indonesia’s Jakarta occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 159, 158 and 158, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered “unhealthy”, particularly for sensitive groups.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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 style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how safe or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.</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>