<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the 'unhealthy' zone as winter is approaching.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 181 at 8:30am today, Dhaka ranked fifth in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</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;">Pakistan’s Lahore, India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Karachi occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 292, 277 and 189, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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;">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, 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/</div>