Dhaka topped the list of cities with the poorest air quality, recording an AQI score of 375 at 8:45 am Wednesday (February 5).

Today’s air is classified as ‘hazardous’, posing a serious health risk to residents, according to the AQI index. Over the last few days, the heavily polluted city’s dangerous air quality persisted.

Air quality is considered “moderate” when the AQI value for particle pollution is between 50 and 100. Generally, sensitive people should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Air quality is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups” when it is between 101 and 150, “unhealthy” when it is between 150 and 200, “very unhealthy” when it is between 201 and 300, and “hazardous” when it is 301+, posing serious health risks to residents.

Delhi in India, Lahore in Pakistan, and Tashkent in Uzbekistan came in second, third, and fourth on the list, respectively, with AQI scores of 195, 178, and 172.

The AQI, an index used to report daily air quality, tells people how clean or polluted a city’s air is and what health risks may be linked to it.

The five pollutants that make up Bangladesh’s AQI are ozone, NO2, CO, SO2, and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5).

Air pollution has always been a problem in Dhaka. Its air quality typically deteriorates during the winter and becomes better during the monsoon season.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that air pollution kills seven million people annually globally, mostly as a result of higher rates of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute respiratory infections.