<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Dhaka continued to occupy the top spot in the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality for the fourth consecutive day this morning (March 5, 2023).</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 322 at 9 am, Dhaka’s air quality remained in the ‘hazardous’ zone.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">China’s Beijing, Pakistan’s Lahore, and India’s Mumbai occupied the second, third, and fourth spots in the list, with AQI scores of 214, 210, and 197, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered "unhealthy," 201 and 300 "very unhealthy," and 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person's chances of developing heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections, and cancer, according to several studies. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>