<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the ‘very unhealthy' zone on Friday morning.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 209 at 9:20 am, the metropolis ranked third in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, 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;">China’s Wuhan and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first two spots with an AQI of 256 and 246, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, an AQI between 101 and 150 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.</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;">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>