<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Dhaka’s air quality was ranked second worst in the world this morning.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 251 at 9:03 am, Dhaka’s air was categorised as ‘very unhealthy’.</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 while an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">India’s Delhi and Kolkata and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first, third and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 303, 238 and 230, respectively.</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. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.</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>