With an air quality index (AQI) score of 90 at 9:04am on Saturday, Dhaka ranked 16th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.

Indonesia’s Jakarta, Pakistan’s Lahore and Iraq’s Baghdad occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 156, 139 and 134 respectively.

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

AQI score between 150 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', and a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.

Dhaka has long grappled with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in the winter and improves during the monsoon.

Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.