Ever since the shutdown went into effect amidst the coronavirus scare, one good thing that happened to Dhaka is the drastic improvement of its air quality. As of March 29, Dhaka's Air Quality Index (AQI) stands at 91, a giant leap forward from the typical range of 260-319 recorded at the beginning of the year. According to experts, such an improvement has not been seen in a long time.

This also signals a marked difference from before when newspapers were almost always filled with news about the health hazards of air pollution.  However, now that most citizens remain indoors, pollution has reduced significantly and it should serve as a lesson to us all that it is indeed possible. What is important is to maintain this quality of the air instead of poisoning it again.