Even breathing in Dhaka is hazardous

It has become dangerous to even breathe in Dhaka as the air quality of the city has deteriorated to such an extent that in 23 of the first 24 days of the month, this has been classified as hazardous.

The air is even more polluted in cities near Dhaka including Narayanganj, Savar and Gazipur.

This extremely polluted air is entering the bodies of the residents of the capital and its adjacent cities. This is cutting down their longevity by seven to eight years.

The number of deaths due to air pollution is surpassing the deaths due to tuberculosis and AIDS in the country.

While such deaths are not sudden, the residents of the capital are gradually afflicted by various ailments. This is becoming a silent killer for the denizens of Dhaka. Neglect by the government agencies responsible for keeping the air clean has led to this extreme condition.

These observations regarding Dhaka's air pollution were made by the country's top urban, environment and health experts, based on data of AirVisual, the international agency that monitors real time air quality of the world's major cities.

The experts said that Dhaka's air quality has been so bad this month that a special alert would have been declared had it been in any developed country of the world.

According to AirVisual's air quality index, 0-50 is good or healthy, 51-100 is acceptable, 101-150 is unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151-200 is unhealthy, 201-300 is very unhealthy and anything over 300 is hazardous.

AirVisual says that Dhaka's air quality on Saturday evening was 183, that is, unhealthy. The Institute of Planning and Development (IPD) held a meeting on Saturday to determine the cause for this condition and what was to be done. It was observed at this virtual meeting that Dhaka had topped the list of highest air pollution in the world in six out of the even days last week (Friday to Thursday).

IPD said that when the air quality crosses 201, a health alert and emergency is declared in various countries. Under such conditions, children, elderly and ailing persons are advised to remain indoors and others are advised to limit their outdoor activities. In 23 out of 24 days of this month, Dhaka's air quality crossed 300, that is, hazardous.

The causes of this deterioration in air quality, according to IPD, were uncontrolled dust in the capital, unhindered movement of cars without fitness, brick kilns, uncontrolled digging of roads, massive construction of mega projects, smoke and waste from industries, mismanagement of solid waste and burning waste. All this was contributing to making the city's air hazardous.

Chairman of the respiratory medicine department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Mohammad Atiqur Rahman, told Prothom Alo, "Basically the lungs are affected by polluted air. This can also give rise to colds, coughs, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, pneumonia and asthma. The kidneys and eyes can be affected too. In the case of women, there is an increased rate of accidental abortions and still birth."

"Our life expectancy has increased, but we are falling behind due to air pollution. The average life expectancy of Dhaka's residents is decreasing by eight years," he added.

According to the World Bank's report, 'Breathing Heavy: New Evidence of Air Pollution and Health in Bangladesh,' published in December last year, every year around 88,000 people die of pollution in Bangladesh due to air pollution.

Alongside the various sources of air pollution, such pollution is also on the rise due to the filing of wetlands in and around Dhaka, the decrease of green spaces and forestation, uncontrolled construction of infrastructure and buildings, and destroying parks, gardens and playgrounds to take up concrete-based development projects.

Speaking at the virtual discussion, IDP executive directive Adil Muhammad Khan said, there are shortcomings in the government's initiatives to prevent air pollution in Dhaka. The causes of air pollution are being determined and there is no lack of regulations to control air pollution, but these are not being implemented. A law was even drafted in this regard, but it was never enacted. This indicates that the government does not view air pollution as an area for initiative. He demanded that the individuals and organisations responsible for preventing air pollution, be brought under the law.

Professor of environmental science at Jahangirnagar University, Md Jamaluddin, has said that a normal person every day on average consumes around 3 to 3.5kg of food on and inhales 12 to 16 kg of air. And due to inhaling polluted air, the average life expectancy of Bangladesh's people is decreasing by 7 to 8 years. He termed air pollution as even worse than the fatal disease AIDS, saying it will not be possible to reduce air pollution without political commitment from the highest level. He said, of all the pollution in the city, least importance is attached to air pollution.

IPD came up with several recommendations for the prevention of air pollution. These include strict monitoring of dust control in all infrastructure and building construction so that the dust is not spread in the air; providing regular air quality reports to the contractors involved with infrastructure construction; effective measures to control speed of vehicles; clamping down on the movement of vehicles without fitness; limiting use of air-conditioning in buildings, controlling brick kilns and enforcing government directives to use block bricks; and creating a planned green belt around Dhaka.

IPD advisor Professor Akhter Mahmud, speaking at the discussion, said, "Narayanganj's air quality is becoming worse than that of Dhaka. From the start of January till the 24th, the air quality index there was 400 or more on average. The policymakers must be held accountable as to why we failed to come up with an effective 'clean air act' and who prevented this."

While this report was being filed, at 10:15pm Saturday night, the capital city's air quality was improving compared to the evening. At that time it stood at 203, that is, very unhealthy.