When the winter season comes, the air in the capital is very unhealthy. Residents of the city have to pay for the deterioration of air quality in Dhaka. City dwellers are getting sick due to breathing unhealthy air. The number of people suffering from respiratory diseases is increasing. Especially children and the elderly suffer more.
Experts say, due to unhealthy air, people are suffering from complex diseases like cold and cough, asthma, breathing problems and lung cancer. Due to high air pollution in winter season, these patients are increasing in hospitals.
Health experts say, if the air pollution level is high, the flow of air movement is not correct, then the concentration of pollutants in the air increases. When people inhale pollutants, their lungs are more affected. Due to the high amount of pollutants in the air in winter, the city dwellers have to face various problems due to pollution.
Read more: Why is air pollution so high in South Asia?
According to experts, long-term diseases are possible as a result of pollution. In the beginning, cold and cough, pneumonia, but at one time the lungs of the patients were affected and the liver and kidneys were damaged.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution has increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. As a result, approximately 7 million people die worldwide every year.
Pollution can lead to long-term illnesses. In the beginning, cold and cough, pneumonia, but at one time the lungs of the patients were affected and the liver and kidneys were damaged.
According to a recent study by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago, the average life expectancy of Bangladeshis has decreased by 7 years due to air pollution. And the average life expectancy of the capital (Dhaka) is decreasing to 8 years. The report was prepared by calculating the extent to which the average life expectancy of the inhabitants of a country is reduced due to air pollution.
Read more: Average air pollution in Dhaka increased by 9.8 percent in one year
According to Air Quality Index (IQ-Air), an air quality monitoring organization, Dhaka’s air is unhealthy most of the year. But 2023 was the most polluted year in eight years. According to an analysis by the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), Dhaka’s average air quality index score in 2023 was 171, up from 163 the previous year. The capital Dhaka was at the peak of air pollution on 10 days of January 2024.
On the surface, in the capital’s Shyamli TB Hospital with 250 beds, patients are crowded outside the hospital. Some are coming to the hospital with asthma, shortness of breath or lung complications. A crowd of patients can be seen in front of the hospital’s asthma and COPD center. Everyone is waiting for the inhaler to be given. Asthma Center physician assistants said that most of the patients come with respiratory problems.
Air pollution has reduced the average life expectancy of Bangladeshis by 7 years. And the average life expectancy of the residents of the capital is decreasing to 8 years. Dhaka’s air is unhealthy most of the year. But 2023 was the most polluted year in eight years.
Preeti Akhtar was standing with her two-year-old baby in her lap. Preeti told Jago News, ‘The girl has been suffering from cold and cough for a month. It is also difficult to breathe. The doctor gave a chest x-ray. In addition, he asked to prevent him from going out of the house.’
Read more: Air pollution accounts for 20 percent of premature deaths in the country
Abdullah Mamun, a resident of Shantinagar in the capital, was spoken to in the same hospital He has been suffering from asthma and cough for two months. Abdullah Mamun told Jago News, ‘Last December, I saw Ibn Sina’s chest disease doctor. But could not recover. Coming here today to show outdoor. The doctor gave some tests. Besides, he said that blood can be allergic.’
80-year-old Aminul Islam came to the TB hospital with breathing problems. He told Jago News, ‘I have been short of breath for several years. Had pneumonia once. It is better in summer but it is more difficult in winter. Take an inhaler.’
Doctors are giving information that the number of patients in the hospital has increased as the level of illness has increased due to air pollution along with the cold of winter. According to the data of Shyamli TB Hospital, the number of outdoor patients was 25 thousand 422 during the four months from March to June 2023. Among them, the number of child patients was 1 thousand 97.
Read more: Air pollution is affecting children’s body and mind, diseases are increasing
In the four months from September to December of the same year, the number of outdoor patients stood at 35,587. 3 thousand 148 of them were children. At the same time, 1,777 patients were admitted to this hospital, which is much more than at any other time of the year.
Shyamoli TB Hospital Medical Officer Chest Disease Specialist Ahsanul Kabir told Jago News, ‘We see patients every day. When winter comes, the number of patients with cold and cough increases with difficulty in breathing. Air pollution is one of the reasons for the increase of these diseases in the winter season.
Patients increased in TB hospital
Dr. Deputy Director of TB Hospital. Artist Ayesha Akhtar told Jago News, ‘We have more patients here during the winter season. Patient pressure is higher from September to January as compared to summer. Up to 700 patients visit the outdoor on any given day in early and mid-winter.’
About the effects of air pollution, he said, ‘Pollution causes long-term diseases. Children and the elderly are more affected. Many children get pneumonia when winter comes. Many old people also died. Now the lungs are affected due to allergies. The function of the lungs is to carry oxygen to the body. If it is not working properly, air (oxygen) cannot flow to different parts of the body. If the lungs become weak, the liver, kidneys, brain, heart are also affected. Currently children are having brain problems due to dust. Mental and physical development is hindered. As a result, studies are disturbed, cannot sleep well.’
Read more: Officials’ children are abroad, so there is no headache about air pollution
This health expert also said, ‘If you are sick, you should consult a doctor. If you have a cold, do not take the inhaler without advice. To stay away from these, you should emphasize nutritious food, regular exercise. Then the immunity will increase.’ Apart from this, this expert suggested planting a lot of trees in the city.
Pollution causes chronic diseases. Children and the elderly are more affected. Many children get pneumonia when winter comes. Many old people also died. Now the lungs are affected due to allergies.
Professor Abu Faisal Jamil, a public health expert of the Directorate of Health, told Jago News, ‘Environment and health are interrelated. This serious effect of air pollution is affecting the human body. Children and the elderly are more affected. In our country, we only talk about the number of doctors, increasing cabins, building hospitals. However, how to prevent the disease, from where the source of the disease – they do not work. How to prevent air pollution, how to save people from its harmful effects – these things have to be worked on.’
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Chairman of the Department of Respiratory Medicine Professor Dr. Md. Atiqur Rahman told Jago News, ‘Air pollution causes cold, flu, cough as well as asthma-pneumonia. During this period the prevalence of diarrhea and TB increases. It is very important to wear a mask to be safe from this. But Dhaka city people don’t wear masks very much. That is why it is important to stay at home for the elderly and children.
Regarding resistance, he said, ‘People are increasing day by day in our city. More air pollution is coming from unfit public transport, under construction establishments. In this case, if the city corporation sprinkles water in the morning and evening, then the polluted dust from the air will reduce. Then the polluted air will not go with human breath.’
Environmentalists say the harmful effects of air pollution are many. It is a threat to our good health. But there is no coordination in our city to prevent pollution. The concerned do not have proper planning. As a result, people are getting sick every year, moving towards long-term diseases.
Alamgir Kabir, general secretary of Bangladesh Environment Movement-Bapa told Jago News, ‘We all know that air pollution is high in Dhaka city. But many of us may not know how harmful it is to health. There is smoke from factories in the city. At the same time, the construction work of various projects increases in Dhaka city during winter. The road is blocked. The result is more pollution. Children, elderly and women are the most affected. On the one hand people are getting sick, their money is being wasted. Getting sick for a long time, even dying.’
RAS/KSR/JIM
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