Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder :
Air pollution is a major environmental issue affecting people across the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide more than 2 million people died every year due to air pollution. The poor air quality poses to chronic exposure to human respiratory system. The WHO has measured outdoor air pollution caused by both types of the particulate matter and according to these findings, air can be contaminated by a range of different particles of which many can harm our health, especially very small particles that enter into the lungs and bloodstream and cause the most serious health problems.
Air pollution in some Asian cities (e.g. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China etc.) is so bad that at times, the cities are enveloped by a blanket of smog that blocks the visibility. According to the WHO, air pollution has reached to worst conditions in Asian cities in recent years and presents a threat to human health. Among the all pollutants of fine particles is found to be much more dangerous for public health which contributing annually to over 2 million premature deaths worldwide. According to WHO ranks air pollution as one of the top 10 killers in the world, with 65 percent of all air pollution deaths occurring in Asia. During the winter season, the pollution becomes the worst due to less rainfall in Indian subcontinent. Apart from vehicles and Brick Kilns are one of the major influencing factor to increase pollution in winter season. According to Air Visual report, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are one of the most polluted cities in the world.
In Asia, many countries have continuous monitoring station to measure the levels of different pollutants in the air which are operated by governmental of International organizations. Apart from The US Embassy have their own PM station almost in every country of the world to monitor and evaluate the present situation of respective country. These networks are fundamentally structured around a country’s regulatory obligation to report monitored air quality data and modelled predictions in accordance with requirements of national or international demand.
The atmospheric pollution monitoring, forecasting and reporting has become increasingly sophisticated and accurate and definitely continue into the future with the use of more individualized measures of exposures. Air Quality Index (AQI) and alert systems sourced by monitoring sites are always going to be limited by location, spacing and density. In Bangladesh, only US Embassy provides the hourly AQI for Dhaka city only. But there are many other polluted cities in Bangladesh in which there is no forecasting systems though 11 monitoring station has been set up under the government. Within urban areas, the reliability of forecasts will improve by increasing the number of sites but monitoring networks will, however, rarely achieve a density that reflects the special distribution of pollutants in a city. People deserve a greater use of sophisticated mapping incorporated into proactive alert services, enabling people to gain feedback as to the outdoor activities appropriate to be undertaken during a given day or what route their children should take to and from school. Currently Air Visual provided this information and it has reached the user in a proactive way and is linked into real-time air quality measurements. Apart from the introduction of more sensors within communities, combining current big data with parameters such as proximity to roads with known traffic frequencies is a possible way forward.
Warning system, the received data can be shown to the user by means of maps, a snapshot of air pollution episodes and consequently for exceeding limits, warning with electronic mail and mobile phone messages. International air quality standards could be used for the interactive warning system. Thus, the information is accessed rapidly and competently.
(Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, Founder Director, Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), Joint Secretary, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA); e-mail: [email protected])
