Dhaka ranked fourth among cities worldwide with the worst air quality on Friday morning.

The capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 189 at 10:00am, which was classified as “unhealthy”, according to IQAir.

Pakistan’s Lahore topped the list with an AQI score of 217. Nepal’s Kathmandu ranked second with a score of 193, while India’s Delhi placed third, also recording an AQI score of 193.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered unhealthy, meaning everyone may begin to experience health effects, with sensitive groups facing more serious risks.

When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 151 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 301+ is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.

The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.

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.