Perennial problem of air pollution

Air pollution is one of the major reasons ruining Dhaka's prospect as a livable city. It is also one of the issues we've struggled to deal with for a long time.

So, what makes Dhaka's air so polluted?

Dhaka ranks as second most polluted city with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 234. Dhaka’s air quality remained in the ‘very unhealthy’ zone yesterday. With an air quality index score of 234, the capital of Bangladesh ranked second in the list of world’s cities with the worst air quality.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is said to be ‘unhealthy’ while 201 and 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’, and 301 to 400 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 been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.

It is unfortunate that, year after year, we fail to make any noticeable progress when it comes to addressing the severe degradation of our air quality, particularly in the capital city of Dhaka.

What is particularly worrisome is that, despite there being widespread knowledge of the adverse effects of poor air quality, including the shocking findings that poor air quality may be cutting lifespans in Dhaka by as many as nine years.

A different study concluded that there were 24,000 premature deaths from exposure to polluted air in a 14-year spell, from 2005-2018 in Dhaka, which was the worst for any city in the world.

All of these points clearly indicate a crisis of significant magnitude, yet one we have consistently failed to address, year after year.

Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing heart diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.

The success of Bangladesh in many infrastructural developments has been highlighted in global statistics and researches where such state of air pollution in Dhaka creates a concern for us. We also doubt how much the country’s policymakers are thinking about the matter.

The scores of Dhaka clearly indicate how dangerous Dhaka is to live in. This pollution is responsible for many debilitating diseases like asthma, heart disease, lung cancer and also seriously decreasing the quality of life.

As one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Dhaka is always at the risk of pollution where smoke from brick kilns, smoke from motor and traffic and dust generated from constructions are mainly responsible for air pollution.

It needs to be mentioned here that 50 per cent of air pollution occurs due to brick kilns. Therefore, public health is under potential threat especially the children and aged people are suffering a lot.

So the pollution should be minimised as early as possible.

Steps would be taken to stop burning garbage at waste dump sites, shutting down all illegal brick kilns around the capital, encouraging cent per cent eco-friendly green bricks kilns, enforcement of law, reducing political interference during of mobile court operations, efficient government monitoring cells and public awareness will be the effective ways to take the pollution under control.

As Bangladesh continues developing as a nation, it must also protect its citizens. To that end, nothing is more fundamental to the wellbeing of a country's citizens than ensuring that the very air they breathe isn't killing them. Finally, we should be aware of the consequences of such pollution otherwise we all and the future generations will be forced to pay for it.