<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Dhaka's air quality is deemed 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' this morning.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 119 at 8:56 am, the capital of Bangladesh ranked eighth in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">China’s Shenyang, Thailand’s Chiang Mai, and Nepal’s Kathmandu occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 216, 207 and 153, 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 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; ">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; ">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>