Bangladesh’s air quality takes another nosedive

A report published by Swiss-based air quality information company IQAir on March 17, 2021 has termed Bangladesh as the most polluted nation and Dhaka as the second-most polluted city in the world regarding air pollution. The fact that Bangladesh has ranked top in the list of the countries with the worst air proves once again that steps taken by the concerned authorities have not really changed air quality.

According to the aforementioned report, around 13-22 percent of deaths in the South Asia region are linked to the health effects of exposure to polluted air, while the economic cost of this menace is 7.4 percent of the combined GDP of this region. The Swiss company had collected data from 106 countries around the world and found out that the average annual PM 2.5 (fine particles found in polluted air) concentrations in Bangladesh was 77.1 mcg/m3, which is seven times above the tolerable exposure as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The report has also pointed out that during the Covid-19 crisis last year, many locations around the world have observed visibly cleaner air, which shows that improvements in air quality are possible if urgent and collective actions are taken. Even Dhaka's air quality had vastly improved during the lockdown periods. A report by The Daily Star on March 18, 2021 mentions an official of the Department of Environment (DoE) echoing the same line of thought. Seeking anonymity, this official also claimed that the government has already taken up various steps to contain this public health concern which includes conducting regular mobile court drives against the polluters.

But, treating only the symptoms without diagnosing the root causes will not help in finding a lasting solution to the challenge of air pollution. The concerned authorities have to find out what were the reasons that led to the dramatic improvement in Dhaka's air quality during the lockdown and take necessary measures to turn them into permanent remedies to this problem. Over the years, numerous reports have identified the brick kilns around Dhaka city as the top emitter of elements that degrade the air, while a recent report by Dhaka University's Air Quality Research and Monitoring Center has found a new culprit, which is black smoke coming out of unfit transport vehicles.

The authorities have to get rid of these brick kilns and substandard vehicles to make Dhaka's air breathable again. Finally, existing laws like the nine directives issued by the High Court in 2020, the Environment Conservation Act 1995 and Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983 have to be implemented strictly and also, the newly proposed Clean Air Act-2019 by the DoE has to be turned into an active law as soon as possible to make a clear difference in air quality.