Air pollution is a major environmental concern in Bangladesh, particularly in Dhaka, Sylhet, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Rangpur and Chittagong are six of the major and densely populated cities of Bangladesh. It is a persistent issue and made Bangladesh ranked 179th (out of 180 countries) at the Environmental Performance. Index for Air Quality in 2018 and in 2019 Bangladesh was the top most polluted country in the world. According to WHO study, at least 123,000 people died in Bangladesh in 2017 due to indoor and outdoor air pollution and the figure was estimated to rise to about 0.2 million by the year 2019. Considering the seriousness of the situation, Environment and Social Development Organization- ESDO initiated a study on both indoor and outdoor air pollution in Bangladesh with specific focus on major urban and rural centers of the country.
The aim was to identify major pollution sources, assess current conditions and ambient air quality, dynamics along with associated health and environmental impacts and subsequently recommend potential prevention measures. The study integrated both qualitative and quantitative assessment methods, including – air quality measurement using standard equipment and a questionnaire survey. Major sources of air pollution. As per the
study findings, the air quality of Dhaka city has degraded abruptly over last year, as about 50% of the days (February 2019 -March 2020) remained unhealthy or below the recommended level. However, due to prolonged lockdown condition for COVID-19 outbreak, Dhaka’s air quality has substantially improved in the past months (15-March to 31 May), but has not reached a satisfactory level, perhaps the less strict implementation of the lockdown.
