It is quite worrisome when the air quality of a city is so bad that people with respiratory diseases are advised to stay indoors for fear of severe adverse effects on their health, and everyone in general is asked to limit their exposure to the outside air.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what the situation is like in Dhaka right now -- with the air quality taking a nosedive to critical levels in winter.
On Saturday morning, according to the Air Quality Index, Dhaka’s air reached a score of 284, which is enough for the monitoring index to classify it as “very unhealthy.”
Considering the fact that any score between 101 and 150 is considered to be “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” Dhaka’s score of 284 is unacceptable and steps must be taken immediately to improve it.
It is indeed a matter of shame that we must worry about the air we breathe and, as such, authorities must work towards eliminating the factors which continue to contribute in terms of making the air quality worse for Dhaka’s citizens.
The main culprits are the brick kilns which surround Dhaka city in addition to the massive infrastructural and construction projects related to industrialization and urbanization that are taking place all over, carried out with the least amount of care with regards to how these activities might be affecting the environment.
Thousands of people die every year as a result and it is high time that these activities were regulated and controlled. Dhaka’s authorities must put air pollution in its agenda as a problem that needs immediate solving before it takes away the lives of more of Dhaka’s denizens.