Air pollution is a major problem in Bangladesh, with severe consequences on the health and wellbeing of residents. Currently, South Asia is one of the most polluted regions in the world, as the annual Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) update from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago points out. Bangladesh, alongside other South Asian countries like India and Nepal, often ranks within the top five most polluted countries in the world. In many Bangladeshi cities, the concentration levels of small particles and droplets in the air, commonly referred to as PM 2.5 levels, are especially egregious. In 2019, the average particulate matter concentration in Dhaka was 83.3 micrograms per cubic meter, well over the World Health Organization’s (WHO) acceptable PM 2.5 standard of 10 micrograms per cubic meter.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Pollution_in_Dhaka.jpg
This extreme level of particulate pollution has significant negative consequences on the health of Bangladeshis. On a global scale, air pollution is now considered to be more threatening to life expectancy than smoking, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and war. The AQLI report estimates that if the PM 2.5 levels in Bangladesh were lowered to meet the WHO standard, residents could see their life expectancy increase by an average of 5.4 years. Dhaka residents could see their life expectancy increase by an average of 7.7 years, meaning Bangladeshis, on average, are losing a whopping 5 to 8 years of their life due to air pollution. This dent in life expectancy due to air pollution is the second-largest in the world, with only residents of India seeing more years lost on average.
Furthermore, it’s estimated that at least 200,000 Bangladeshis are at risk for fatality from respiratory diseases and long-term exposure to air pollutants as of 2019. The link between air pollution, lung and heart disease and mortality has been well-studied. Air pollutants, and especially particulate matter pollution, can make diseases like asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and respiratory infections more common and worse in those already afflicted.
It’s high time the deadly consequences of air pollution in Bangladesh are considered as a national public health emergency. This is especially clear amidst a pandemic driven by a viral respiratory infection. Bad air quality can lead to more respiratory illness, including higher susceptibility to COVID-19 and increased transmission of the coronavirus. Lifetime exposure to air pollution can also increase the likelihood of requiring hospitalization due to COVID-19 infection. An increase of even just one microgram per cubic meter in the PM 2.5 level is associated with an 8% increase in the mortality rate of COVID-19.
For the sake of preserving and extending the health of the people in Bangladesh, especially as they are still reckoning with the deadly global COVID-19 pandemic, the country must take decisive action to mitigate air pollution. On a national level, Bangladesh must strive toward meeting the WHO PM 2.5 standard. The government must be willing to invest funding to develop policies to directly reduce particulate pollution, including the implementation of plans to either ban or reduce and monitor activity of the most harmful sources of emission. Some of these sources include older and unfit vehicles, brick kilns, poorly maintained roads, and a widespread lack of oversight on large development projects. To this end, Bangladesh has already made some good progress, including the banning of two-stroke, three-wheeled baby taxis, and a commitment to switch to the use of more eco-friendly bricks by 2025. Other potential ideas could be banning other older vehicles that are contributing most to particulate pollution, centralized monitoring of big development projects and other large-scale pollution sources, afforestation efforts, and increasing public awareness. In general, the very real consequences of air pollution, and potential actions to mitigate the issue, must be a global conversation.
Tanzilla Purnota graduated from University of California-Berkeley in May 2021 with a Bachelor's in Molecular and Cell Biology (emphasis in Immunology) and a Minor in Public Policy. She is passionate about climate justice, public health and policy, and human biology. During her free time, she enjoys writing across a wide variety of genres and styles, reading about the world, and getting out into nature.
