Without immediate alertness, environment pollution will lead to dire consequences

It is dreadful that more than 200,000 people in Bangladesh died because of environment pollution. Science magazine Lancet published a report titled ‘Global Burden of Diseases’ this week, stating that around 9 million people died because of pollution in 2019. Among them around 215,825 people died in Bangladesh. India topped in terms of death in the world while Bangladesh came sixth.

The report identified environment pollution as the core reason behind spreading various diseases worldwide. Environment pollution is caused by the soil, water and air we use in our daily life. A lot of people have been dying, affected by lead, tobacco smoke and pollution at the workplace. India is in the top in terms of death caused by air pollution. It is followed by Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. Besides, Bangladesh, India and China suffer the most due presence of arsenic in water. Arsenic causes cancer, kidney and heart disease and nervous system conditions.

In addition to preventing air, lead and chemical pollution in affected countries, reliance on fossil fuels must be rapidly reduced and the use of renewable energy must be increased. At a conference held in Dhaka on the occasion of World Health Day on 8 April, the resident representative of the World Health Organization said that 7 million prematurely born infants die every year and 13 people die every minute in the world due to fossil fuels.

Analysis of the global situation of pollution-related deaths shows that about 75 per cent of the 9 million people died due to air pollution. The death rate due to air pollution is also relatively high in Bangladesh. Around 4.5 million people died in 2019 due to air pollution globally. In 2015 it was 4.2 million. The death toll from hazardous chemical pollution was 900,000 in 2000, rising to 1.7 million in 2015 and 1.8 million in 2019 globally.

Air, soil and water are being polluted along with global development. Rivers and forests are being destroyed in Bangladesh in the name of development. The level of air pollution has increased due to fossil fuels.

These pollutants are not only killing people, those who are alive are also suffering from various diseases. Environmental pollution is also the source of various diseases including dengue, diarrhoea and cancer in Bangladesh. According to some experts, environmental pollution is worse than coronavirus.

In this situation, if we do not wake up now, even if we cannot completely stop air, soil and water pollution and bring it to a tolerable level, then the situation will take a terrible turn and the death rate due to environmental pollution will increase further.

Dhaka has already become an almost uninhabitable city. The environment in other cities of the country is also in a fragile state. We cannot allow it to increase further even for a day. The problems that have been created due to prolonged negligence will not reduce. This requires a comprehensive action plan and its proper implementation.