Suraiya Kazi, a third-year university student in Dhaka, pollution has become a daily struggle. Her once-routine commute from Azimpur to Badda now feels like a battle for breath, as dust and bus fumes tighten her chest.
“The moment I get on a bus, it feels like someone is squeezing my chest. Struggling to breathe is no longer a sudden episode — it has become part of my everyday life,” she said.
For Suraiya and many Dhaka residents, toxic air is steadily eroding their health, confidence, and hopes for the future.
With air quality ranking among the worst in the world, residents of Dhaka are facing a worsening health crisis as toxic pollution fuels respiratory illness, heart attacks, and rising financial burdens.
On Friday, Dhaka ranked second among cities worldwide with the worst air quality, recording an AQI of 260 at 9:55am.
The city’s air was classified as ‘very unhealthy’, posing serious health risks to residents, according to the Air Quality Index (AQI).
In 2024, Bangladesh was the world’s second most polluted country by PM2.5. The average AQI⁺ stood at 167 — an “unhealthy” rating. Dhaka often topped global city pollution charts, particularly during the winter months.
Suraiya now carries an inhaler everywhere. She needs nebuliser treatments several times a week. The constant fear of her condition worsening adds to her anxiety, while the medical bills put heavy pressure on her middle-class family.
“Everyone at home worries. If it weren’t for these expenses, at least I wouldn’t be adding to their anxiety,” she said.
A study published on 18 January by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), titled Public Health Impacts of Fine Particle Air Pollution in Bangladesh, found that air pollution contributes to 102,456 deaths annually in the country.
Evercare Hospital’s internal medicine specialist, Dr KFM Ayaz, describes Dhaka’s health crisis as “multifactorial”. He says the city’s pollution now severely affects non-smokers, with rising cases of COPD, ILD, fibrosis, and lung cancer. Dust, vehicle emissions, black smoke, and unplanned urbanisation, he notes, are all interconnected culprits.
Dhaka’s dense population and heat from vehicles trap polluted air close to the ground. This creates hot, heavy air that worsens respiratory damage.
“With the city’s current reality, individuals alone cannot change the environment,” Dr Ayaz says. “On days with poor AQI, limiting outdoor exposure and using quality masks are the only real protection.”
Air pollution damages more than the lungs. In Dhaka, about one in six deaths from heart disease between 2020 and 2024 were linked to PM2.5 particles. Even small rises in these particles slightly increase the risk of cardiac death.
Former director of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Professor Dr Md Afzalur Rahman, told the Times of Bangladesh that during winter, slower wind speed allows dust and fuel residues to accumulate in the air.
He warns that long-term exposure to fine particles inflames and constricts both the lungs and heart. He cites international studies showing higher rates of coronary heart disease in more polluted areas. Alarmingly, heart attacks and sudden cardiac issues are rising among people aged 20 to 30.
While some pollution-related respiratory damage can be reversed, Dr Rahman says, damage from heart attacks is permanent.
The economic cost is also severe. A 2019 World Bank report estimated that environmental degradation costs Bangladesh 17.6 percent of its GDP. Air pollution alone accounts for annual losses of Tk1,40,590–1,58,930 crore ($11.5–13 billion) which is 3.9–4.4 percent of GDP.
Professor Dr Syed Abdul Hamid of Dhaka University’s Department of Health Economics explains that pollution-related illness increases personal medical expenses while reducing national productivity.
“A person expected to live 70 years may die at 45 or 50 due to pollution-related causes. His entire economic contribution is lost,” he says. Such premature deaths weaken the labour market and cause long-term harm to the economy.
Professor Hamid notes that Bangladesh has no dedicated budget for pollution-related diseases. Overcrowded public hospitals strain existing funds, reducing care quality and pushing many families towards expensive private treatment, worsening financial hardship.
Experts stress that decentralising Dhaka is essential. According to Dr Afzalur Rahman, without reducing population pressure, controlling pollution will become impossible.
Professor Hamid emphasises the need for stronger policy measures and a shift in public mindset. “If health is not prioritised within families, the state will not prioritise it either,” he says. Awareness of health and the environment, he adds, must start from childhood.
He notes that while some quick measures can help curb air pollution, long-term success depends on changes in public behaviour and priorities.
The crisis is hitting wallets just as hard as lungs. As Dhaka chokes, both its people and its economy bleed — a cost the country can no longer afford.
