The Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago in Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) stated that air pollution shortens an average Bangladeshi’s life expectancy by 5.4 years. At present, the average life expectancy of Bangladeshis is 72.6 years. In 1998, life expectancy was cut short by 2.8 years due to air pollution. The levels of particulate matter — which are solid and liquid particles like soot, smoke, dust that remain suspended in the air — were found to be at least three times higher than the World Health Organisation recommended level.
Most of the particulate matter, also known as PM 2.5, comes from fossil fuels such as from motor vehicle engines and power plants, said a study by the University of Chicago institute. Microscopic particles that are just 3 percent the diameter of a human hair are deadly when they enter the respiratory system along with oxygen. The average annual PM 2.5 concentration in Bangladesh was 77.1 micrograms per cubic metre (mcg/m3) of air, which is seven times the WHO exposure recommendation.
In 2020, Bangladesh’s air quality was the worst in the world, while capital Dhaka was the second second worst air polluted city. The most polluted areas of the country are the divisions of Khulna and Rajshahi, where the average resident is exposed to pollution that is more than seven times the WHO guideline — reducing life expectancy by more than six years. The PM 2.5 concentration is high in Narayanganj, Jessore, Rajshahi, Khulna, Pabna, Dhaka and Gazipur.
Experts said that air pollution causes lots of diseases like ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute lower respiratory infections in children. Brickfields are most dangerous, but those are decreasing. But the use of fossil fuels is increasing day by day. If we develop our public transportation only then would private transportation come down along with the use of fossil fuel. The impact of particulate pollution is greater than the effect of devastating communicable diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, behavioural killers like cigarette smoking and even war. Strong clean air policies can reduce fossil fuel emissions and help reign in climate change, which can also increase life expectancy.
