Air pollution cuts life expectancy by nearly 7 years in Bangladesh: Study
News Desk :
The life expectancy of an average Bangladeshi is cut short by 6.8 years due to fine particle air pollution, in accordance with a new report.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) Joint Secretary Professor Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder disclosed the information by citing the Air Quality Life Index 2023 prepared by the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute at a press conference on Tuesday.
The index quantifies the decrease in life expectancy due to exposure to air pollution in countries around the world.
The index said average life expectancy has dropped by 2.4 years across the world due to air pollution.
In a written statement, the BAPA joint secretary said the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH) in Dhaka treated 210,000 patients in its outdoor and emergency departments in 2021, compared to only 85,000 seven years ago.
According to the NIDCH, the number of patients admitted to hospitals and outdoor and emergency departments was over 12,000 in July last year. In July 2023, that number crossed 14,000.
According to the Air Quality Life Index 2023, air pollution is the second largest threat to human health in Bangladesh.
According to the World Bank, more than 138,000 people suffer from heart disease every year in Bangladesh due to lead pollution. For the same reason, children’s IQ is decreasing, and as a result, the risk of intellectual disability is increasing.
The causes of air pollution include natural and meteorological factors, lack of urban planning, inadequate legal framework, enforcement limitations, geographical factors, and population density, BAPA said.
Research shows that 30% of air pollution in Bangladesh comes from road digging and construction work, 29% from brick kilns and industrial units, 15% from vehicles, 6.5% from inter-country air pollution, 8.5% from household and/or cooking stoves, and 8% from burning waste, the organization added in its statement.
Highlighting the difference between the air quality of different districts within the country, Kamruzzaman said the amount of very fine particulate matter in the air of Gazipur, which is usually 2.5 micrometres or smaller (PM2.5), is found at 89.8 micrograms per cubic meter.
This value is 18 times higher than the standard set by the World Health Organization and six times higher than the standard set (annually).
As of 2022, microscopic matter particles are 15 micrograms per cubic metre (annually) set for PM2.5.
Sylhet has been found to be the least polluted district, BAPA said.
It is 48.5 micrograms per cubic metre and still 9.7 times higher than the standard set by the World Health Organization and 3.23 times higher than the national (annually) standard set by Bangladesh.
