With winter approaching, the all too familiar issues of air pollution are once again upon us.
It is unfortunate that, year after year, we fail to make any noticeable progress when it comes to addressing the severe degradation of our air quality, particularly in the capital city of Dhaka.
Indeed, it is not uncommon for the AQI to hover at around 200, and the PM2.5 concentration, arguably the most important indicator of air quality, to be about 20 times the value as per the World Health Organization guidelines.
What is particularly worrisome is that, despite there being widespread knowledge of the adverse effects of poor air quality, including the shocking findings that poor air quality may be cutting lifespans in Dhaka by as many as nine years, while a different study concluded that there were 24,000 premature deaths from exposure to polluted air in a 14-year spell, from 2005-2018 in Dhaka, which was the worst for any city in the world.
All of these points clearly indicate a crisis of significant magnitude, yet one we have consistently failed to address, year after year.
Whether it be the illegal brick kilns that continue to operate with impunity or our unchecked and unplanned urbanization that has never taken into account the repercussions on our environment, our failure to put a stop to our worsening air is quite literally killing us.
This cannot continue for much longer. As Bangladesh continues developing as a nation, it must also protect its citizens. To that end, nothing is more fundamental to the wellbeing of a country's citizens than ensuring that the very air they breathe isn't killing them.
