With streets mostly devoid of vehicles, Dhaka’s air quality moderate this morning

Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the 'moderate' zone this morning as streets are still mostly devoid of vehicles during the Eid holidays.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 88 at 10 am, the capital of Bangladesh ranked 17th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.

An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered 'moderate' with acceptable air quality. However, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

India's Delhi, Pakistan's Lahore and South Africa's Johannesburg occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 178, 174 and 160, respectively.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while between 201–300 is ''very unhealthy', and 301–400 is 'hazardous', posing severe 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.

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

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.