Bangladesh stands at the 2nd position among the top air polluted countries at a worst situation

By Adnan Tazvir

The latest report from the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) EPA.

• This report is an indicator of the role of 180 countries in protecting the environment as a whole.
  Bangladesh is now ranked 179th out of 180 countries, just before the last.
  • The first index was created in 2006.
  • In 2006, Bangladesh was ranked 125th.
  • In the last fourteen years, Bangladesh has come down 54 steps as an example of deterioration in pollution control.

Different cities of the world are famous for various installations; for example, some are famous for their large buildings, and some are famous for their trees or wetlands. Bangladesh capital Dhaka is now discussed or criticized for air pollution. According to the EPA’s latest report, the US Environmental Protection Agency, Bangladesh is the second most polluted country in the world.

The EPA released the report on the position of states in controlling environmental pollution on January 23. The agency has compiled an index of 180 countries that what countries in the world are doing to protect the environment.

Bangladesh has come down to 179th place out of 180 countries. The index was first compiled in 2006 when Bangladesh was ranked 125th.

In other words, in the last era, Bangladesh has come down 54 steps regarding pollution control. Nepal is the world’s most polluted country, followed by Bangladesh, India, China, Pakistan and Congo. And Australia is the first country as a country of fresh air. It is followed by Barbados, Jordan, Canada and Denmark.

Air quality in eight cities of the country is monitored daily from the Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project of the Bangladesh Department of Environment. For two months, the air quality in Dhaka and Rajshahi, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Sylhet, Barisal and Khulna cities have been identified as severe and very unhealthy.

The most polluted air city is the capital Dhaka. Then there is Rajshahi. Although Barisal is the least polluted city, its air is worse than standard, which is alarming.

According to the Environment Department’s daily Air Quality Report, Narayanganj had the worst air quality among the country’s eight major district towns on Saturday. The EPA report identified it as fatally unhealthy. The air in Dhaka and Sylhet is very unhealthy on the same day.

The air in Gazipur and Chittagong was unhealthy. The air in Rajshahi and Ba

risal has been identified as unhealthy. The air has been in this bad condition since last December. During December-January, air quality in most of those cities was in critical condition.

Asked about this, Manjurul Hannan Khan, director of the Nirmal Vayu Project of the Department of Environment, told Prothom Alo that tiny and tiny particles responsible for air pollution usually increase during winter.

About 6,000 brickfields around the country’s major cities, including the capital, are mainly responsible for the pollution. These are introduced in winter. Simultaneously, as the construction and repair of various infrastructures increased, the air naturally became polluted.

The Department of Environment monitors air quality following global air quality standards.

• The AQI values range from 0-500
• The higher the AQI, the greater the air pollution and health concerns
• An AQI of 100 corresponds to the national air quality standard for that pollutant
• A value <100 is generally considered satisfactory and not a health hazard A value >100 indicates air quality may be unhealthy for some groups
• A value >300 represents very hazardous air quality

The Average AQI values at Dhaka city are gradually increasing which is shown below:
Year Month AQI value in average Remarks
2014 December 230 Very unhealthy
2015 335 very hazardous
2016 416 very hazardous
2017 361 very hazardous
2018 January 28, 387 very hazardous
2019 December 384 very hazardous
Sources: The Daily star, March 9, 2021, Dhaka Tribune, February 2, 2018 and December 26, 2019

This indicator is made by measuring Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and some pollutant gaseous substances in air.

The Particulate matters are dusts, smoke, fumes, black carbon. And the pollutant gases are SOX (SO2, SO3) NOX (NO, N2O, NO2, NO3, N2O3, N2O4, N2O5, etc.), Oxide of C, (CO, CO2), Sulphides (H2S), Ammonia (NH3), Toxic metals (As, Hg, Cd, Pb, etc.), Radioactive gases, Kr (Krypton), Xe (Xenon), Rn (Radon, etc.

PM10 indicates the particulate matter’s diameter are of 10 microns or less in size. And PM2.5 indicates the particulate matter’s diameter are of 2.5 microns or less in size. PM10 and PM 2.5 both are inhalable into the lungs and can induce adverse health effects.

Source of pollution

In 2016, a survey was conducted on the source and type of air pollution in Dhaka under the Department of Environment’s case project. The survey, led by the Norwegian Institute of Air Research, found that brick-making began in November in about 1,000 brickfields around Dhaka. These brickfields are responsible for 58 per cent of air pollution.

In this regard, BRAC University Emeritus Professor Ainun Nishat told that the government is implementing a project worth 11,792,830 USD for clean air with the World Bank loan. With that money, the Department of Environment’s multi-storied building, high-quality foot over bridge on the road have been building, and many officials have travelled abroad.

But the government’s data proves that pollution has not decreased but increased. He said most of the brickfields in the country do not have any technology to control pollution. During public-private projects, not even the minimum dust control initiative or water is being sprinkled on it.