Long dismissed as an unavoidable cost of development, air pollution in Bangladesh has now become a serious threat to the country's future generation. A recent World Bank report shows that hazardous air exposure has reached levels where every schoolgoing child inhales air beyond safe limits, rising from 86 per cent in 1998 to complete vulnerability today. The health consequences are especially severe for children because their lungs are still developing and they breathe faster than adults, which means they inhale more pollutants relative to their body weight. Studies consistently show that such early life exposure yields irreversible developmental consequences that undermine future productivity and societal advancement. Around the world, schools in Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, India and the USA have cancelled classes on days with high pollution even when the air quality was far better than the worst days in Bangladesh. Without urgent measures for accelerated abatement, such class cancellations may become unavoidable in the country sooner than expected.
The World Bank report titled "A Breath of Change: Solutions for Cleaner Air in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills" has also sounded a warning for the wider Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF) region. It found that nearly one billion people across parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan are exposed to unhealthy air leading to around one million premature deaths each year and economic losses approaching 10 per cent of the regional GDP. This atmospheric crisis results from a mix of sources deeply woven into daily life and economic activity. The World Bank identifies five main contributors to the thick pollution blanket over the IGP-HF region. These include households burning solid fuels for cooking and heating, industries burning fossil fuels and biomass inefficiently without proper filtration, vehicles with inefficient internal combustion engines, farmers burning crop residues and managing fertilisers and manure poorly, and households and businesses burning waste. However, because pollution from these five sectors routinely crosses national borders, domestic efforts alone yield limited results. For instance, while Bangladesh contends with brick kilns and vehicular emissions in Dhaka where recent readings show PM2.5 levels often exceeding 50 micrograms per cubic meter, pollution inflows from neighbouring regions sustain higher concentrations.
Yet, as the World Bank analysis makes clear, a practical and achievable path to cleaner air does exist. The proposed solutions fall into three broad areas, specifically source level abatement, protection of vulnerable groups and institutional strengthening. These interventions rest on a strong economic rationale since cleaner technologies reduce healthcare costs while improving workforce productivity. Protection measures, meanwhile, call for stronger health and education systems to shield children during periods of severe pollution. The report also sets out an operational framework based on four key tools, which are information, incentives, institutions and infrastructure. The regional "35 by 35" goal, aiming to cut PM2.5 below 35 micrograms per cubic meter by 2035, highlights the value of cooperation, as coordinated actions prove 45 per cent more cost-effective than isolated efforts.
The challenge now lies in implementation, political resolve and sustained investment. While the World Bank roadmap is comprehensive, its success depends on decisive action by governments, the private sector and civil society alike. Moreover, air pollution respects no borders, making regional collaboration not only beneficial but essential. Governments across South Asia must therefore work together by sharing data, aligning policies and supporting one another in this monumental task. The path they choose for response will determine the region's public health and environmental future.
