<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Dhaka, the densely populated capital of Bangladesh topped the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality for the third consecutive day.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 166 at 9:50am today (May 30, 2023), Dhaka ranked first among cities with the most polluted air. The air was classified as "unhealthy", according to the air quality and pollution city ranking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy', and 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">United Arab Emirates' Dubai, South Korea's Incheon and India's Delhi occupied the second, third and fourth spots in the list, with AQI scores of 161, 159 and 158, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean 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;">The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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 World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to 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>