Dhaka air 9th most polluted in the world this morning

Dhaka's air quality remained in the "unhealthy" zone Friday morning.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 177 at 10:30am, the capital ranked ninth in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.

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.

Pakistan's Karachi and Lahore and Iraq's Baghdad occupied the first, second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 267, 239 and 229, respectively.

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 disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.