Media report that Dhaka is the third worst polluted city with 14 million and above population in the world next to Delhi and Cairo with serious impact on healthy living of the people and life threatening diseases is serious public health threat. The WHO report released recently said seven million people suffer premature deaths due to household and outdoor air pollution every year around the globe. The South East Asian region accounts for 2.4 million of the seven million premature deaths while nine out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. The biggest challenge is how to keep the pollution level down, improve the quality of air and make our cities livable.
The air toxins — sulphate and black carbon — are the greatest health risks as they can penetrate deep into the lungs or cardiovascular system. Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of deaths globally and air pollution contributes significantly to NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and lung cancer. The WHO recognized that air pollution is a critical risk factor for NCDs, causing an estimated one-quarter (24 percent) of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25 percent from stroke, 43 percent from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29 percent from lung cancer.
According to the WHO, Dhaka is ranked as one of the top mega-cities in the South East Asian region where residents are exposed to pollutant air particulates. More than 4,300 cities in 108 countries are now included in WHO’s ambient air quality database, making this the world’s most comprehensive database on ambient air pollution. Since 2016, more than 1,000 additional cities have been added to the database, which shows that more countries are measuring and taking action to reduce air pollution than ever before.
Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of its adverse impact. It is unacceptable that over three billion people — most of them are women and children — are still breathing deadly smoke every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their homes. If we don’t take urgent action to cut air pollution, we will never come close to achieving sustainable development. The deadly air pollution will kill more and more people if we fail to address it now.
The air toxins — sulphate and black carbon — are the greatest health risks as they can penetrate deep into the lungs or cardiovascular system. Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of deaths globally and air pollution contributes significantly to NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and lung cancer. The WHO recognized that air pollution is a critical risk factor for NCDs, causing an estimated one-quarter (24 percent) of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25 percent from stroke, 43 percent from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29 percent from lung cancer.
According to the WHO, Dhaka is ranked as one of the top mega-cities in the South East Asian region where residents are exposed to pollutant air particulates. More than 4,300 cities in 108 countries are now included in WHO’s ambient air quality database, making this the world’s most comprehensive database on ambient air pollution. Since 2016, more than 1,000 additional cities have been added to the database, which shows that more countries are measuring and taking action to reduce air pollution than ever before.
Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of its adverse impact. It is unacceptable that over three billion people — most of them are women and children — are still breathing deadly smoke every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their homes. If we don’t take urgent action to cut air pollution, we will never come close to achieving sustainable development. The deadly air pollution will kill more and more people if we fail to address it now.
