Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the 'unhealthy' zone on Wednesday morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 152 at 10.35am on Wednesday, Dhaka ranked 17th in the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality. Pakistan’s Lahore, India’s Delhi and Pakistan's Karachi occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 281, 252 and 211, respectively. Read: Noise pollution: The lethal soundtrack to life in Dhaka An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups. 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. Read: Effects of Air Pollution on Unborn Children, Neonates, Infants 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. In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.

Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the 'unhealthy' zone on Wednesday morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 159 at 8:45am, the metropolis ranked sixth in the list of world cities with the worst air quality. An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups. Read: UN report: Climate pollution reductions 'highly inadequate' Pakistan’s Lahore, India’s Delhi and the United Arab Emirates's Dubai occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 320, 289 and 183, respectively. 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. In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone. Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon. 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 heart diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies. Read: WASA key reason behind pollution of Dhaka’s rivers, NRCC chairman says 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.