Bangladeshis’ average life expectancy is dropping due to acute air pollution
Bangladeshis are losing their lives for an average of 6 years due to the continued acute air pollution. The people of this country could have lived for more than 6.7 years even if toxic particles in the air were at an acceptable level.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the average life expectancy of Bangladeshis is presently 72.6 years. As per the Chicago-based Energy Policy Institute’s latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), if WHO (world health organization) rules followed, the average life expectancy in the country would have increased by roughly seven years.
According to the AQLI statistics, Bangladeshis’ average life expectancy shortened by 2.6 years owing to air pollution in 1998. The country’s air pollution has worsened since then. Bangladesh presently ranks as the world’s most polluted country.
Every citizen lives in an area where annual air pollution levels exceed WHO’s recommendations and Bangladesh’s national limit. Polluting toxins are at least four times higher in the air of 64 areas across the country than the World Health Organization’s limits.
According to specialists, toxic particles in the air, also known as Fine Particles (PM 2.5) , are produced mainly by car engines and fossil fuel power plants. If they enter the human body above the prescribed quantities, they are exceedingly detrimental to the human body.
As per the World Air Quality Report 2020, Bangladesh’s average annual PM2.5 intake is 77.1 micrograms per cubic meter, about seven times the WHO’s tolerance limit.
The Air Quality Life Index has revealed the state of air pollution in 64 districts of Bangladesh. Dhaka and Khulna have taken place as the most polluted districts of the country.
The level of air pollution in these two districts is eight times greater than WHO’s limits, and people’s life expectancy is reducing by around eight years due to the pollution. Even Chittagong citizens’ average life expectancy decreases by 4.8 years, despite the city being in better shape than the rest of the country.
Suppose it is ever possible to reduce pollution. In that case, the average life expectancy in Satkhira will increase to 8.1 years, following 7.9 years in Narail, 7.8 years in Jashore, Gopalganj, Jhenaidah, and 7.7 years in Khulna, Chuadanga, Manikganj, Magura, and Faridpur. Furthermore, residents of Dhaka city will live 7.7 years longer if the ongoing pollution gets controlled.
According to the latest data from AQI, if it could control air pollution permanently, the global average life expectancy can increase by at least two years. In other words, the current global average life expectancy will increase from 72 to 74 years.
Researchers have cited China as an example. As they took preventive measures, air pollution has continued to decline since 2011, and the average life expectancy of the Chinese has increased by about 2.6 years.
