Shawdesh desk:

Dhaka, Feb 14: Dhaka’s air quality continued to be in the ‘unhealthy’ zone this morning, reports UNB.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 174 at 9:20 am, the capital of Bangladesh ranked second in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.

Pakistan’s Lahore and Karachi occupied the first and the third spots, with AQI scores of 196 and 171, respectively.

The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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.

As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.