Breathing the Capital: Why Dhaka’s Air Quality Has Turned Hazardous Again

Dhaka has climbed back into the upper ranks of the world's most polluted cities, registering an Air Quality Index reading of approximately 173 and securing fifth place on global charts. The figure places the capital's air in the unhealthy range, where sensitive groups are advised to avoid prolonged outdoor activity and even healthy adults may notice discomfort after several hours outside.

The latest spike follows a familiar post-monsoon rhythm. Once the heavy rains taper off, the city's atmosphere loses its natural cleaning mechanism. Fine dust from unpaved roads and construction sites mixes with exhaust from ageing vehicles, smoke from brick kilns, and emissions from small factories. When wind speeds fall, these particles remain suspended, forming a visible haze that thickens at dawn and again in the late afternoon. PM2.5—the microscopic fraction most harmful to human health—makes up the bulk of the pollution load and can travel deep into the lungs.

For ordinary residents the ranking is felt in daily routines rather than abstract numbers. Parents hesitate before sending children to play outside. Office workers who commute by motorcycle or bus arrive with irritated eyes and dry throats. Street-side tea stalls and open-air markets continue operating, but vendors and customers alike report increased coughing. Traffic police and construction labourers, who spend most of their shifts in the open air, describe a persistent tightness in the chest that eases only after they return indoors and rest. Hospitals see a gradual uptick in patients seeking relief for asthma, bronchitis, and unexplained fatigue, though the connection to any single day's pollution reading is not always immediate.

The sources driving the high ranking are well documented yet difficult to control. Thousands of brick kilns still operate on the city's periphery using traditional methods that release large volumes of soot. Construction of roads, flyovers, and high-rise buildings generates continuous dust, much of which is left uncovered. The vehicle fleet includes a large share of older diesel engines that emit more particulate matter than modern standards allow. In addition, the burning of household waste and market refuse remains common in dense neighbourhoods where formal collection is incomplete. Each of these activities contributes a steady stream of pollutants that accumulate whenever meteorological conditions are unfavourable.

City authorities have increased road washing and issued temporary restrictions on some construction work during peak pollution hours. Public messages encourage the use of masks and the limiting of outdoor exercise. These steps offer short-term relief in specific locations, but they do not alter the underlying volume of emissions. Environmental observers note that lasting improvement would require simultaneous action on cleaner kiln technology, stricter vehicle emission checks, better waste management, and consistent enforcement—measures that have progressed unevenly in recent years.

Compared with other large South Asian cities, Dhaka's trajectory has been slower. Several regional centres have recorded modest declines in annual average pollution after introducing cleaner fuels and tighter industrial controls. Dhaka's rapid population growth, limited green cover, and heavy reliance on informal economic activity make equivalent gains harder to achieve. The current fifth-place ranking is therefore less a sudden crisis than the visible result of conditions that recur every dry season.

Until structural changes reduce the daily emission load, residents will continue to navigate days when simply walking to work or waiting for a bus carries a measurable health cost. The latest global standing serves as a reminder that air quality in the capital remains a persistent public-health issue rather than a problem confined to a few weeks of the year.