Hi everyone! To start off the week, let’s take a look at the current air quality in Bangladesh. As seen in the image below, Bangladesh is severely polluted. In Dhaka, the AQI index is at 258, and in Comilla, the value is at 155. These values are above the healthy AQI limit, which is 100. Why is Bangladesh’s air so polluted?
This could be amounted to the presence of industries and vehicles in the country. There are many densely populated cities in Bangladesh. According to Mahmood, the density of lead in the air of Dhaka, a city in Bangladesh, is around 463 nanograms/cubic metre, which is 10 times more than the globally accepted standard of lead concentration. There are also many brick-making kilns in the country. These kilns usually use wood and coal as their energy sources, and as a result, they emit particulate matter, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds, which are all pollutants, as we have learnt in our second seminar with Dr Chen. The main mode of transport in Bangladesh is cars. When the rubber wheels of vehicles are burnt on the scorching hot roads in the cities, black carbon and toxic gases are produced. These are also pollutants. These vehicles are also a main source of pollution because vehicle exhausts in this underdeveloped country come from two-stroke engines and are run by diesel. If you search the Internet to learn more about Bangladesh’s problems, you should find that traffic congestion is one of the leading issues faced by its people.
From 2015-2019, the number of patients suffering from asthma rose from 3326 in 2015 to 78806 in 2019. The value has increased by more than 20 times! Even though experts have urged the governments to eliminate illegal brickfields, cordon off construction sides, control unfit vehicles and implement the Clean Air Act, there has been no significant improvement. About 28% of Bangladeshi deaths are caused by diseases that are triggered by pollution. The global average for deaths caused by pollution is only 16%. Pollution-related deaths in Bangladesh are not only caused by air pollution, but also water and metal pollution. Issues pertaining waste generation, collection and disposal, improper water management systems and hazardous waste management will be discussed by making reference to 5 research papers in the next blog post.
See you in the next one! ✿
References
IQAir (2022) Air Quality in Bangladesh. 24 January. Available from: https://www.iqair.com/bangladesh [Accessed: 24 January 2022].
Mahmood, S. A. I. (n. d.) Air Pollution Kills 195,000 Bangladeshis Each Year. Available from: https://patimes.org/air-pollution-kills-195000-bangladeshis-each-year/?__cf_chl_f_tk=aVQg.vnQJjWbkjOzLAxApPISFFver6RcxZfp3cfYsWs-1642314551-0-gaNycGzNCKU [Accessed: 24 January 2022].
Sakib, S. N. (2021) Bangladesh: Air Pollution Engulfs Lives, Environment. 28 March. Available from: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/environment/bangladesh-air-pollution-engulfs-lives-environment/2190506#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20ESDO%2C%20by,2019%20from%203%2C326%20in%202015. [Accessed: 24 January 2022].
World Bank (2018) Clean and Resilient Growth in Bangladesh. 16 September. Available from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/09/16/clean-and-resilient-growth-in-bangladesh [Accessed: 24 January 2022].