The air quality of Dhaka showed signs of improvement on Sunday morning.

The capital was ranked 18th worst in the Air Quality Index (AQI) with a score of 96, around 8:25am. The air quality was classified as ‘moderate’.

Pakistan’s Lahore, Indonesia's Jakarta, and China’s Shenzhen occupied the first three spots in the list of cities with worst air with scores of 192, 175 and 163 respectively.

When the AQI value is between 51 to 100, active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

Bangladesh has shut down educational institutions, mass transport, and non-essential services and restricted the movement of people and vehicles to tackle the spread of coronavirus. People have been asked to stay indoors.

This has significantly cut down air pollution in Dhaka which regularly ranks among top 10 cities with worst air quality.

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. Its air quality usually improves during monsoon.

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