30% of the overall pollution comes from road digging and constructions, 29% from brick kilns and factories, 15% from vehicles, 9.5% from interstate air pollution, and 8.5% from household and/or stove operations. And 8% of air pollution comes from waste burning.
The environment and people have a closer relationship with each other. Since the beginning of the creation of mankind, their existence has been reliant on the ability of humans and other animals to adapt to the environment. Primitive nation lived in harmony with nature which has been destroyed in the form of the development of civilization by humans. But human civilisation has long been facing severe threats due to environmental pollution caused by various reasons. Indiscriminately, we are destroying nature — a priceless gift given by the Creator. As a result, civilisation with various animal species is falling under the wrath of adverse natural events.
About 80% of new diseases surfaces in the world due to environmental pollution, the sea level is rising due to the random melting of polar ice, the volume of the ozone layer of the atmosphere is gradually shrinking prompting the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun to enter the Earth, the number of fish species in the sea-river-reservoir is decreasing day by day, various diseases are occurring in the fish body, the amount of oxygen is decreasing due to the increase of various types of harmful chemicals, including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides, in the air, and owing to the indiscriminate cutting of plants.
Now we are facing dire situations like climate change. Our actions are largely responsible for this abnormality in the environment.
The level of environmental pollution in our country is terrible. The highest temperature recorded at 42.3 degrees Celsius in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, was on April 30, 1960 and later in April 2014 and 2023, the highest temperature was recorded at 40.2 a degrees Celsius and this year was not an exception either. With no rain throughout the month of April, temperatures hovered above 40 degrees Celsius, making life immensely miserable not only for us, but for all other animals and birds.
A scientific research by the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) shows that the maximum average temperature of 2024 will be 44 degrees Celsius. It was recorded in the capital’s Uttara Sector-13 area and the minimum average temperature was 34° Celsius recorded in Nayapaltan, an area at the heart of Dhaka.
Nature has been behaving strangely for the last few years. The six seasons of Bangladesh seem to be disappearing and an intense heat wave is recurring throughout the year. There is rarely some rain even in summer which starts in March in the country, leading to extreme water crisis in the hills and northern districts. Even though rainfall is irregular in the monsoon, parts of the country suffer from heavy flash floods very often.
Like in summer and monsoon, the climate changes are weighing heavily on winter, when prolonged cold snaps have been noticed in the last few years.
Except for the rainy season, acute air pollution is a commonplace in urban Bangladesh, especially in the divisional cities. The situation takes a serious turn in winter that starts in mid-November and continues till late February.
Bangladesh’s name is making the headlines globally owing to securing the top most positions in air pollution.
A survey by the World Bank suggests Bangladesh is one of the worst affected countries due to pollution and environmental hazards, with around 32% of the total deaths caused by pollutions. The study also says that the level of pollution in urban areas has reached an alarming level.
Air pollution is one of the most important causes of environmental degradation across the world. Research published in the International Journal of Cardiovascular Research has identified air pollution as an ‘epidemic’.
Bangladesh was at the top in air pollution in 2023 and Dhaka was the second most polluted city in the world, per the ‘World Air Quality Report-2023’ report. Researcher Lelieveld said in his research that the impact of air pollution on public health is more harmful than that by smoking. The causes of air pollution include natural and meteorological factors, deficiencies in urban planning, weak laws, and limitations to law enforcement, geographic factors, and population density.
According to the CAPS research, 30% of the overall pollution come from road digging and constructions, 29% from brick kilns and factories, 15% from vehicles, 9.5% from interstate air pollution, and 8.5% from household and/or stove operations. And 8% of air pollution comes from waste burning.
Exposure to polluted air for a long time can cause infection or damage to the eyes, nose or throat, as well as various lung complications such as bronchitis or pneumonia, headaches, asthma, various allergic problems and even cancer.
A global report on air pollution titled ‘Air Quality Life Index-2023’ published by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago reveals a shocking finding: the average life expectancy of all people in the world is reduced by two years and four months due to air pollution.
On the other hand, the average life expectancy of a citizen of Bangladesh is decreasing by six years and eight months. Researcher Thomas Manzel said, “Nearly two-thirds of premature deaths are caused by man-made pollution, and controlling this pollution could save around 5.5 million premature deaths a year”.
Bangladesh’s top position in air pollution is a danger signal for all of us. We have taken the air to this worrying condition through pollutions. Distress awaits our future generations.
After air pollution, the pollution that has deprived the residents of Dhaka of overnight sleep can be termed as a ‘noise terror’ rather than noise pollution. According to the recently published United Nations Environment Program (UNAP) report ‘Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches’, two cities – Dhaka and Rajshahi — of Bangladesh are among the top cities in the world in terms of noise pollution.
The report ranked Dhaka first in noise pollution, followed by Moradabad in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and then by Islamabad in Pakistan. Rajshahi was the fourth on the list.
The report also states that the permissible noise level is 55 dB (decibels) for residential areas and 70 dB for commercial areas. There, the noise level was found to be 119 decibels in Dhaka and 103 decibels in Rajshahi. For the last few years, the noise level in almost all the busy areas of Dhaka city is much higher than the acceptable level. Recently, a new study by the CAPS noticed an alarming excess of noise pollution at road junctions in the capital city. Among the 77 road intersections, the highest noise level (105.3 decibels) was found at the Paltan intersection.
The Dhanmondi 32 and Science lab intersections saw the second and third highest limits of 101.64 and 100.93 decibels respectively. The national standard noise level for commercial areas is 70 decibels during the day and 60 decibels at night as mentioned in the Noise Pollution (Control) Rules 2006. Noise levels were several times higher than the standard limits at each location.
The main reason for river pollution is that 70-80% of industries are built around rivers. Besides, the factory operates the ETPs (effluent treatment plants) only during daytime; the municipal authorities are polluting the rivers by releasing sewage untreated effluents. Coal and oil from dockyard wastes, leakages from ships, launches, steamers, trawlers, solid wastes and sewage from passengers, chemicals from agricultural activities and unplanned human sanitation and domestic wastes built up along the rivers, the mindless encroachment of cattle habitats on rivers are among the major reasons for river pollution.
According to the Environment Conservation Act-1995, there is a provision of punishment for river polluters. According to Article 9 of the law, if any company discharges any type of pollutant into a river, its in-charge will be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years or a fine of up to Tk10 lakh or with both.
The CAPS has been monitoring the water quality of rivers around Dhaka, including the Buriganga, during the dry and monsoon seasons every year. It found that the water quality of the Buriganga was better in April 2020 than in December 2019.
One of the indicators for determining water quality is dissolved oxygen in water. The average value of dissolved oxygen in Buriganga water in December 2019 was 1.7 mg per liter while in 2020 it was 1.8 mg/litre which is about manifold less than the standard value level of Bangladesh (5 mg per liter or more).
The rate at which pollution is growing means that people will eventually live in a polluted environment rather than a healthy one. The picture of pollution is so grim that every year millions of people are injured and killed due to pollution. This pollution is harming people’s lives, claiming countless lives of other spices and unleashing trial of destruction on property. The pollutions includes air pollution, noise pollution, sight pollution, lead pollution, plastic pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and river pollution – all of which badly affect human health.
Environment is our main source of survival. If the environment is safe, we will also be safe. It is our responsibility to sustain the damage done to the global environment by the human generations of the last two hundred years in their pursuit of ever-increasing economic and technological development.
We must take up the challenge of resolving the problems we created while developing the industrialised world. The people themselves can take the necessary and responsible steps to develop green and sustainable economic development through their own efforts. Effective measures such as transparency, accountability, citizen participation, justice and good governance must be in place to ensure sustainable development, balance with nature, protection of the environment, prevention of pollution, conservation of resources and development of biodiversity.
For environment conservation and ecosystem management, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should draw up a master plan involving all related ministries and agencies, and identify activities on priority basis alongside creating an implementation roadmap.
In order to increase the capacity of the Department of Environment, the appointment of skilled manpower with specialised knowledge such as the Environment Cadre Service and the Environment Police should be appointed and the institutional, legal and financial capacity of the Department should be increased and the freedom to carry out the assigned duties should be ensured.
A law has to be formulated to establish ‘Environmental Pollution Control Boards’ in every administrative unit of the country, including union parishads (councils), upazila (sub-district) parishads, municipalities, city corporations, police stations, and all concerned government entities in the district and divisional levels to organise at least one seminar every month. Social organisations have to be engaged in the process.
Necessary initiatives should be taken to develop “green” and “blue” networks in a coordinated way to improve the livability of the city by restoring and preserving existing ponds, canals and other water-bodies.
Besides, development projects should be adopted and implemented keeping the existing trees and greenery in the city intact as much as possible. Now is the time to live in balance with nature. Environmental education and awareness creation and conservation of natural resources are important prerequisites for sustainable development. In this regard, it is important to create proper awareness and develop a modern perspective among the young generation of our country.
Bangladesh is working towards the goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2031 and a developed one by 2041. So while taking up any development activities, there is no choice but to ensure a balance between environmental conservation and development. It is possible to succeed in environmental pollution prevention activities with the combined efforts of the government and the people.
Contact: Professor Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, Dean, Faculty of Science, Professor, Dept. of Environmental Science, Stamford University Bangladesh, Joint Secretary, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) & Chairman, Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS).
