Mahruz Khaled prefers to wear a mask on his way to school, although Covid-19 restrictions have been relaxed, as he feels safe from exhaust fumes.
"My parents also advised me to wear a mask as I had asthma until I was 10," said Khaled, an eighth grader of AG Church School in Dhaka's Moghbazar area.
During the pandemic, he said, all students of the school had to wear masks mandatorily.
"Some of us still use masks only when school breaks and walk on footpaths on the way home," the 13-year-old told the FE.
Mahruz is one of hundreds of thousands of cases who remain in discomfort due to the burning of fossil fuel.
The FE analysed data from power division, renewable energy and customs authorities that reveals over-reliance on fossil fuel in power generation due to poor attention to renewable energy.
Power generation is mostly dependent on non-renewable energy. The growing demand for power has compelled Bangladesh to import and extract fossil fuels.
The latest data available with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) support the findings.
In existing power-generation units by fuels, according to BPDB, the installed capacity of gas-run power plants is 46.53 per cent, furnace oil 25.86 per cent and coal-fired 16.81 per cent.
However, the renewable solar energy has 1.84-per cent share followed by hydropower 0.92 per cent. But there is no installed capacity to generate power from wind.
However, imported power sources feed 4.66 per cent of the installed capacity.
Bangladesh has 24,911-megawatt installed capacity.
According to customs data, import of two fossil fuels, high-speed diesel (HSD) and coal, shot up in fiscal year 2022-23 to meet the rising demand for power generation.
Diesel import rose by 33 per cent and coal by 16 per cent last year than the year before.
Bangladesh imported 4.5-million tonnes of HSD last year, up 1.1-million tonnes from the previous year's 3.4-million tonnes, disclosed NBR data.
On the other hand, more than 7,102,544 tonnes of coal has been imported, up by 1,266 tonnes compared to that of the previous year.
Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies founding chairman Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumdar said children are the worst sufferers of air pollution for having weak capacity in lungs followed by pregnant women.
The standard of annual average fine particulate matters in Dhaka's air, given by the environmental department, was 15 microgram in Bangladesh until 2022, he added.
But the new Air Pollution (Control) Rules-2023 has amended the range and revised the standard level upward to 35mg per cubic metre, which would encourage polluters, said Dr Majumdar.
However, the World Health Organisation has decreased the level to 5.0mg from earlier 10mg considering the adverse impact on health, he told the FE.
Earlier, air pollution was six to eight times higher than standard, which would now fall following the amendments, said Dr Majumder who is professor and chairman of the Department of Environmental Science at Stamford University Bangladesh.
The use of fossil fuel is increasing with the rise of vehicles, burning of coal in brick kilns, diesel-run irrigation system and water vehicles, he commented.
"Dhaka ranks one of the most-polluted cities globally. Also, it has been among the worst-liveable seven countries in the last three consecutive years."
According to the World Bank, some 84,000 to 0.1-million people die due to air pollution.
The WHO also reported average life expectancy in Bangladesh has been decreasing by three to five years due to air pollution.
"The country's energy demand will mount as we're heading towards a middle-income country status," according to Dr Majumder.
He suggested that immediate steps be taken to reduce overdependence on fossil fuels and focus on renewal energy to meet the demand.
Fossil fuel contributes to 15-per cent air pollution from vehicles, 35 per cent from brick kilns and industrial units. Gas consumption in households causes 8.5 per cent, said Dr Majumdar.
The Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) was formed with intent to increase the share of renewable energy in power generation by 10 per cent or 2,000 MW within 2020.
However, the SREDA data on August 02 said the installed capacity of renewable energy was 1,194 MW, 5.0 per cent of the country's total power generation capacity.
According to energy experts, poor attention to renewable energy sources is the major reason behind the higher use of fossil fuels.
M Fouzul Kabir Khan, former power secretary and founder of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), said pollution affects everybody.
A Harvard study has estimated life-cycle costs and public health effects at $74.6 billion annually, he cited.
"Burning fossil fuels changes climate and releases pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon mono oxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and lead particulate matters, resulting in air and water pollution."
Such pollution leads to early death, heart attacks, respiratory disorders, stroke, asthma and absenteeism from school and work, according to Mr Khan.
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