Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan and the Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies on Tuesday demanded the formation of a commission for environment reform.
They made the demand at a press conference titled 鈥榃orld Earth Day 2025: Measures to Control Air Pollution鈥� held at Reporters Unity in the capital, said a BAPA press release.聽
Citing data from the Embassy of the United States of America in Bangladesh on Dhaka鈥檚 Air Quality Index from 2016 to 2024, analysed by CAPS, CAPS chairman Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, said that out of 3,114 days during this period, residents of Dhaka experienced good air quality on only 31 days鈥攁round one per cent of the mentioned time.聽聽
He added that the remaining days were categorised as 624 days (20 per cent) had moderate air quality, 878 days (28 per cent) were sensitive air, 853 days (27 per cent) were unhealthy, 635 days (21 per cent) were very unhealthy, and 93 days (3 perceent) had hazardous levels of air pollution.
In 2024, the best and worst air quality days were recorded as only 2 and 35 days respectively, he said.
Citing a 2022 report by the World Bank, Kamruzzaman said that air pollution was responsible for the deaths of around 2,36,000 people in Bangladesh in 2021.聽
At the event presided over by BAPA president Nur Mohammad Talukder, the organisations called for phasing out unfit vehicles while promoting hybrid alternatives, shifting to block brick production instead of traditional burnt bricks, generating electricity from waste, and gradually replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources across electricity generation, transportation, industry, and household cooking.聽聽
The demands also included amending energy policies like the IEPMP, enacting an air pollution control law, ensuring industries to adhere to international emission standards through regular environmental inspections, and investing in clean energy technologies such as solar, wind, hydro, and biogas.
