TDS Desk

The government plans to install eight Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) at strategic roadside locations in urban hotspots for the first time, in an effort to address the escalating air pollution crisis.

The initiative will primarily focus on monitoring pollutants from vehicle emissions, a major contributor to air pollution in cities like Dhaka and Chattogram.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has submitted a project proposal titled “Project for the Improvement of Equipment for Air Pollution Monitoring”, with an estimated budget of Tk108.95 crore, a senior official of the Planning Commission said.

The project will be jointly funded by the Bangladesh government (Tk41.11 crore) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (Tk67.84 crore) and will be implemented by the Department of Environment (DoE), he added. If approved, the project is set to run from March 2025 to June 2028, he mentioned.

The core objective of the project is to install air monitoring stations directly along roadsides, unlike existing 31 stations, which are situated far from traffic hotspots.

This will allow the government to more accurately measure road dust, vehicle exhaust, and other pollutants that significantly contribute to deteriorating air quality in major cities.

Md Ziaul Haque, director of Air Quality Management at DoE, told   that five of the stations will be installed in Dhaka, two in Chattogram, and one will be a mobile station that can be placed anywhere to measure air quality.

He added, “The data collected from these stations will be crucial in informing policy changes and formulating regulations to improve air quality and public health.”

The government aims to use the data from these stations to address the severe air pollution problem that has made Bangladesh one of the most polluted nations in the world.

In 2019 alone, air pollution was responsible for nearly 159,000 premature deaths and resulted in an economic loss of about 4.77% of the country’s GDP, according to project proposal. Particulate matter (PM2.5) levels in Bangladesh exceed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended limits by up to 15 times, marking the country’s air quality as among the worst globally, it added.

Experts warn that unchecked air pollution could have long-lasting effects on both physical and mental health.

Prof Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumdar, chairman of the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), said, “If we don’t act now, air pollution will continue to harm not only our current population but also future generations. The toll it takes on mental and physical health is something we cannot afford to ignore.”

The introduction of roadside monitoring stations is expected to provide more relevant data, specifically from high-traffic areas, allowing for better-informed decision-making. This data will be pivotal in improving urban air quality and public health.

A recent analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) highlights the potential benefits of reducing air pollution in Bangladesh.

Meeting the national air quality standard of 35 µg/m³ could reduce deaths by 19%, Years of Life Lost (YLL) by 21%, and Years Lived with Disability (YLD) by 12%. If the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ is achieved, it could reduce deaths by 79%, saving 81,282 lives annually, while also eliminating most asthma-related emergency visits, preterm births, and reducing sick leave days by 263 million.

Moreover, PM2.5 exposure contributes to significant morbidity, including approximately 670,000 emergency room visits for asthma, 900,000 preterm births, and 700,000 low birth weight births annually.

These health burdens, along with the resulting loss in productivity, cost the country an estimated $11 billion in 2019 – nearly 5% of its GDP.