A study recently revealed that Gazipur has the most polluted air out of 64 districts in Bangladesh and Madaripur the least. The permissible limit set by the Department of Environment for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) — which refers to the tiny particles or droplets in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated — is 65 micrograms per cubic metre.
On average, Bangladesh’s PM 2.5 level was 102.41 micrograms per cubic metre. According to the study conducted by Stamford University, Gazipur’s PM 2.5 level was found to be 263.51 micrograms per cubic metre. Gazipur was followed by Dhaka and Narayanganj respectively. Hundreds of brick kilns, thousands of industries, excavation for development works, unfit vehicles, burning of wastage account for the high concentration of PM 2.5 in the three most polluted cities. As many as 18 districts including Habiganj, Noakhali, Cox’s Bazar and Moulvibazar have high levels of PM 2.5. Among the divisional cities, Rajshahi performed the best with a PM 2.5 level of 56.41 micrograms per cubic metre and Dhaka the worst (252.93 micrograms per cubic metre). The government organisations in charge of regulating the air quality have no accountability.
Other than the obvious respiratory ailments, high levels of PM 2.5 affect the kidney and liver too. In Bangladesh, kidney problems are becoming acute, with eight lakh patients currently requiring dialysis. We must say people’s participation must be ensured in air quality monitoring mechanisms, while calling for amendments to the environment law so that people can go to court for suffering from environmental hazards.
To overcome the situation, short, mid and long-term actions are needed. Sprinkling water every two to three hours, covering construction works with tarpaulin, using suction trucks to remove dust, shutting down brick kilns and getting rid of unfit vehicles from the roads may short-timely solve the problem. Preserving water bodies, forestation, traffic control, popularizing green energy, protecting urban ecology and real time air control data might be useful.
