Dhaka's air quality was marked as 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' this morning.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 129 at 8:45 am, Dhaka ranked 8th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality, according to IQAir.

Malaysia's Kuching, Indonesia's Jakarta, Kuwait's Kuwait City and Qatar's Doha occupied the first four spots on the list, with AQI scores of 174, 159, 154 and 153, 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 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, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.