The air quality in Bangladesh capital Dhaka continued to be in the 'unhealthy' zone on Sunday morning.

With an air quality index score of 168 at 8:00am, the metropolis ranked fifth in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.

An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.

With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction works, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.

Pakistan’s Lahore, India’s Delhi and the UAE’s Dubai occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 337, 256 and 172, respectively.

An AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.