Dhaka consistently gets placed among the list of cities with the most polluted air in the world -- a factor that directly contributes to the declining state of health for its citizens.
While the long-term health ramifications of breathing in air with inordinately high concentrations of PM2.5 have been well documented, a landmark study conducted by India -- another nation where its major metropolises grapple with air pollution -- shows a direct correlation between breathing in poor quality air leading to high blood sugar levels and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
PM2.5, when inhaled, can lead to several respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, but this recent study in India should be raising alarm bells across our own nation’s health-care infrastructure. Last year, the PM2.5 concentration in Dhaka sat at 65.8μg/m³ -- which exceeds the WHO recommended threshold by more than 10 times.
Air pollution needs to be treated with the severity that this problem demands.
A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Bank, from back in March 2019, pointed out the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka: Brick kilns, fumes from vehicles, and dust from construction sites. Smoke bellowed from brick kilns is arguably the worst offender, and is also the most readily addressable issue of the three.
It is high time that we slowly started undoing the decades worth of damage that we have dealt to our air and vicariously our health.
