The air in Dhaka is very unhealthy in winter
The days of scorching heat and intermittent rains are over. Winter appeared. Dewdrops on the grass in the morning and fog in the evening brought softness to nature. But with the onset of winter, the danger in the air is increasing. Meanwhile, the amount of pollutants in the air of the capital has increased so much that it has become very unhealthy.
Generally, when the winter starts from the last week of November every year, the air in Dhaka becomes unhealthy. In winter, water vapor rises in the air due to fog, and it accumulates fine particles that are harmful to the human body. This time, as the winter started earlier, the particles started accumulating rapidly in the air.
The air quality of 11 major cities of the country is monitored daily from the observatories of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. It can be seen that the air quality in the capital was very unhealthy on Monday. Besides, air quality in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Barisal and Gazipur has also reached unhealthy levels. The rest of Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna and Comilla were in a state of caution.
Ziaul Haque, director of the air quality department of the environment department, told “Air quality is deteriorating rapidly due to low temperatures and increased fog.” But since last year we have started shutting down illegal brickfields, one of the main sources of air pollution. This year, besides brick kilns, strict measures will be taken to control construction dust and vehicle fumes.
At 6:15 pm on Monday, Dhaka was ranked 12th among the world’s major cities in terms of air pollution, according to Air Visual, an international air quality monitoring organization. Delhi in India, Lahore in Pakistan and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia topped the list of most polluted air cities.
According to Air Visual, if no action is taken to prevent air pollution in Dhaka, the air quality will remain unhealthy from Tuesday to Thursday. At this time, it has been advised to keep the windows closed for the elderly and children to go out wearing masks and prevent polluted air from entering the house.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecast that the weather will be mainly dry in most parts of the country on Tuesday. There is no chance of rain at the moment. Light fog may fall in the riverine areas of the country. The lowest temperature in the country on Monday was at Tentulia in Panchagarh, at 12.6 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature in the capital was 20.1 degrees Celsius. Air pollution usually increases in such weather.
Kamruzzaman Majumder, director of the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) at Stamford University, told that plans should be taken to control air pollution in the country’s major cities, including the capital, from November every year. In addition to the city corporation, law enforcement has vehicles to spray water. They should be used to control dust pollution. He urged to be more strict in controlling construction and vehicle dust.
