'Air pollution won't decrease with just a snap of the fingers'

We get to hear that the air quality in Dhaka is bad. How bad is it actually?

In terms of global air quality, compared to developed countries, the situation in Bangladesh, or Dhaka, is extremely bad. And the neighbouring countries in the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP), which include India, Pakistan, Nepal, along with Bangladesh, have similar air quality. But our air quality is worse than that of Africa. And Bangladesh's situation is extremely bad compared to America, Canada and European countries. When the issue Bangladesh's air pollution arises, only particulate matter PM2.5 is talked about. But actually there are many chemical substances involved in air pollution, but these are not discussed. That is in a bad state here too. The black fumes, where black carbon is emitted, are also chemical substances. These substances linger on for lengthy spans of time in a very long chain. In Bangladesh this amounts to 10 to 12 micrograms per cubic metre. In America or Europe it is only 0.1 to 0.5 microgams. That means the presence of black carbon in the air in Bangladesh is 100 or 120 times more than those countries.

Headlines in the media about air pollution indicate that Dhaka's air is unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous. On what criteria are these measurements based? How will people understand?

The global network AirVisual is basically a company that sells equipment globally to measure air pollution. You will see I have the device in my room too. There are a few more of these devices in private concerns in Bangladesh. The equipment of this company is spread out all over the world. The company uses a particular software to collect and collate data of these places. They then give this a ranking. According to this ranking we often hear Dhaka's air is unhealthy or very unhealthy or hazardous. Basically, if there is a presence of PM 2.5 in the air, the software measures this and calculates the Air Quality Index (AQI). If the AQI is 0-50, that means the air quality is more or less good, 50-100 is moderate but there is need to be alert, and then the higher it gets, the worse it is. And 250-300 is hazardous. Bangladesh reaches this level many times in a year. Other than PM2.5, AQI has other parametres of measurement.

In the past too, Dhaka had topped the list of cities with the worse air pollution. This time it has remained at the top for quite a few consecutive days. Why is this so?

Bangladesh or Dhaka is at the top of the list of countries or cities with the highest air pollution many days a year. This is not the first time this has been so. This time perhaps it has been for a few more days. But I have been monitoring this continuously since 2018. Bangladesh for a longest span of time has been at the global top for PM 2.5. If we want to say why this is so, it is because the government or the concerned authorities are not bothered about it.

Studies show that other than for 48 days, for the rest of the year Dhaka's air is always worse that the World Health Organisation's clean air guidelines. This is terrible.

We researchers feel that it is even less than 48 days that the air is all right. At the outset I spoke about how the ranking was done. I see good air for only 30 to 35 days. The rest of the year it is bad. Also, when we see that the air quality is good for those few days, it doesn't mean that we are polluting less in those days or that we are taking any measures to reduce the pollution. Basically, from June to August there is heavy rainfall for these three months. As a result, the elements of pollution cannot remain in the air for very long. That is why the air is relatively clean. This is a natural process.

Is the state of Dhaka city heading towards that of Delhi or Beijing?

Beijing is in quite a good condition now. If you compare the air pollution of Delhi, Beijing and Dhaka, at one time Beijing was really bad, the worst. But later Beijing took many steps and their air pollution has decreased. Delhi's condition is still bad. But they too have begun taking all sorts of measures. However, I don't see Bangladesh taking any effective measures. We have no specific target to prevent air pollution. If things continue in this manner, the situation will go out of control. We will face a pitiful predicament.

What sort of initiatives do other cities of the world take to prevent air pollution? How can we follow them?

If we go back 70 years, we will see many cities in America had pollution like us. There was the Great Smog in London in which the lethal air pollution even killed people. Many cities in Japan had air pollution 50 to 60 years ago. But they adopted various effective measures and tackled the situation. The cities there are doing quite well now. Air pollution has dropped in Beijing as many other cities of China. They have halted coal-fired power plants. They have introduced electric cars. They are ensuring the quality of fossil fuel in diesel or octane. They are changing their methods of infrastructure construction. They have taken many such measures. We can follow those. It is not that air pollution will decrease just at the snap of the fingers.

Various studies come up with the same handful of causes behind air pollution. We want to hear from you what the main causes are.

Smoke and fumes emitted from vehicles and factory machinery are the main causes of air pollution. Then there is pollution from infrastructure construction. Brick kilns are also mentioned as a cause, but these are not that significant in contributing to Dhaka'a air pollution. The other causes are the major reasons. There are thousands of manufacturing factories, rice mills, plastic and tyre recycling. These may be small establishments, but they create high amounts of air pollution. Then there is pollution caused by cooking. This does not just mean wood fueled stoves, but gas stoves too because our houses do not have adequate ventilation. Then again in winter, from November to February, a lot of polluted air comes during these four months from outside into Bangladesh.

The environment department claims that the brick kilns are the most responsible for air pollution. Then again, the environment minister has said 60 per cent of the brick kilns in the country are illegal. But it is their responsibility to shut down those brick kilns. They are not doing so.

You are right. It is basically the system that is at fault. On one hand they are saying these kilns are creating pollution, and on the other they say these are illegal. This shows that there are glitches in the system. I always want to mention here that brick kilns certainly do create pollution, but the claims being made in this regard are excessive. The issue of brick kilns is being brought to the forefront to cover up the other causes.

The High Court has issued directives about preventing air pollution, but are these being followed?

The court at various times issues directive about air pollution. These include certain steps to be taken. When the court issues these orders, the government and the concerned authorities become a bit active. But they fall idle once again within a few days. You will notice that the agencies that work in this sector always say that they have a workforce crisis, they have all sorts of shortfalls. The thing is, when they try to do everything themselves, this will not yield any easy solution. They basically should coordinate everything, do the work along with everyone. This will include various government and non-government agencies, the law enforcement, the administration, voluntary organisations, even the media. Everyone will have a role to play from their positions.

How effective are the laws in Bangladesh to prevent air pollution? Is the penalty imposed on the polluters adequate?

The laws that do exist are not fully implemented. We have many good laws. For example, if anyone is constructing a building, they cannot keep the construction material on the roadside. But this law is not implemented. We sometimes see those contributing to air pollution are fined. But a fine is not an adequate punishment. Many call for new laws. But the matter is that we cannot enforce the laws that already exist. There are irregularities, corruption and all sorts of underhand actions. These must be eliminated. According to the law, there is no scope for cars that emit black fumes to take to the streets. So how are those cars on the roads? These must be stopped first.

Which agencies of the government can play an effective role in preventing air pollution?

I feel the environment department has a vital role to play. The city corporation or RAJUK or WASA are responsible for digging up roads and construction. The city corporation is responsible for waste disposal. BRTA and the police are responsible for vehicular movement on the roads. There are mega projects underway. The time of these projects are being extended repeatedly. This creates huge pollution. The local government ministry must look into this along with other agencies. RAJUK is planning the city anew, and they must see if there are plans for playing grounds, lakes, schools. So many ministries, departments and authorities are responsible. If everyone carried out their responsibilities properly, air pollution would automatically drop. Also, there must be  coordination among everyone. One agency digs up a road, a few days later another agency digs it up again. If there was coordination, this could have been done at the same time. All these are government agencies. Those carrying out these tasks can think about this. After all, they and their children are also breathing this air. They are being harmed too. Everyone is being harmed.

Thousands of people are dying every year due to air pollution. But why is there not much concern about this issue?

It is because these deaths due to air pollution are taking place invisibly. Some die of cancer, and people are concerned. But many are unaware that air pollution can be the cause of these deaths. I visited a factory in Old Dhaka to carry out some sampling. There was so much air pollution there that our sampling was turning absolutely black. It is not possible to carry out tests on that. We were supposed to carry out sampling for 24 hours, but had to return after just a couple of hours. Young children were working there too, with no inkling about air pollution. If their lives are tracked long term, it will be seen that they cannot remain healthy for too long. That is how people's life expectancy lessens. With various services for expectant mothers and newborn infants, infant mortality rates have fallen in the country. Average life expectancy has increased. But these successes of the government are being impacted by adulteration of food and pollution of the air.

How important is the government's political commitment in this regard?

Air pollution is a big problem for this state, but the state is not understanding this, or not willing to understand. Whether it is the government or the political leaders, their commitment is essential. They are the ones to be lawmakers. No matter what we may say at an individual level, things will not change. Only the government can do this. The political parties must pay attention to this. The national election is coming up. Political parties come up with manifestoes for the election. I think every party's manifesto must commit to working towards preventing air pollution. That they will free the country of air pollution.

*This interview appeared in the print an online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir