Breathing in Danger: The Twin Threat of Climate Change and Air Pollution in Bangladesh

In Dhaka, climate change and air pollution are no longer distant threats but daily realities. Drawing on both public health and environmental expertise, Monaemul Islam Sizear and Nusrat Jahan Mim share how climate change and air pollution are reshaping the skies, temperatures, and daily lives. This piece for the Global Souths Hub highlights the urgent, twin threat facing the city, and argues that protecting public health requires both systemic change and everyday action. It aims to spark long overdue, critical conversations among community leaders and policymakers.

Waking up in Dhaka one might expect sunlight and a gentle breeze. Instead, the city often greets its residents with a dense haze of smoke, dust and toxic particles. Breathing becomes a conscious and deliberate act, each exhale serving as a daily reminder that climate change and air pollution are no longer distant threats, but daily realities. This raises a critical question: how did a nation once celebrated for its lush landscape and six distinct seasons reach a point where the air itself poses a serious threat to human health?

Bangladesh’s Vulnerable Landscape

Bangladesh’s geographical position plays a critical role in its environmental vulnerability. As a low-lying delta situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Bay of Bengal, the country is among the most severely affected by climate change. Irregular rainfall and shifting temperatures increasingly disrupt ecological balance, while also accelerating environmental degradation and air quality. Alarmingly, in 2024, Dhaka ranked as the world’s third most polluted city, exposing nearly 20 million residents to serious health risks.

How Climate Change Affects Air Pollution

Bangladesh ranks among the ten most climate-vulnerable nations globally with human-induced climate change increasingly intensifying extreme heat across the country. In Dhaka, rising temperatures aggravate air pollution, creating severe health and environmental challenges. Between 1980 and 2023, Dhaka warmed significantly faster than the national average. The city’s heat index surged 65% more than the national trend, turning Dhaka into an urban heat island where pollutants accumulate. This concentrated heat traps pollutants close to the ground, exacerbating air quality deterioration.

These changes are not abstract; they are felt in everyday life and shape how people move through the city. Many residents in Dhaka report eye irritation, persistent coughing and difficulty breathing while commuting or spending time outdoors on high-pollution days. A Dhaka resident told The Business Standard that worsening air quality has left her unusually prone to illness, noting that the air in 2025 feels heavier than before, especially for those with respiratory conditions.

The Loss of Green Spaces and Rising Energy Demands

Rapid urbanisation has significantly worsened environmental conditions in Dhaka. Urban greenery, such as parks, gardens and roadside trees, all play a critical role in cooling urban areas by shading surfaces and absorbing heat. These spaces also trap pollutants and produce oxygen. In Dhaka, the loss of green space has been severe: the city lost 47% of its green areas between 1989 and 2020, weakening natural air filtration and intensifying heat retention.  

Changing rainfall patterns compound the problem, as reduced rainfall weakens the atmosphere’s natural cleansing process, leaving pollutants suspended in the air for longer. As green coverage declines, temperatures rise and air pollution worsens, increasing the risks of heat-related illnesses, respiratory problems and other health issues for residents. Beyond temperature regulation, green spaces support biodiversity, provide recreational areas and improve mental health, making them essential for a sustainable and livable city. Rising energy demand and consumption adds another layer of complexity.

Most of the country’s electricity comes from natural gas (80% of its power generation), while coal and oil make up the remaining share. Burning coal produces sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are major contributors to air pollution. In many rural homes families continue to cook over biomass cookstoves accounting for 41% of household emissions.

The Dual Threat of Climate Change and Air Pollution on Public Health

In Bangladesh, polluted air reduces life expectancy by over five years, with more than 200,000 annual deaths linked to air pollution (Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, 2025). Prolonged heatwaves are also becoming increasingly common in Bangladesh, with serious consequences for public health. In the 2025 summer, nearly 57 million Bangladeshis endured over 30 consecutive days of severe heat.

Combined with fine particulate matter (PM2.5), tiny particles that penetrate lungs and bloodstream—the strain increases risks of lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and severe respiratory problems. Evidence suggests that simply reducing PM2.5 exposure alone could prevent more than over 100,000 fatalities annually. In 2025, over 5,000 children under the age of five in Bangladesh will have been affected by  lower respiratory illnesses according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Extreme heat further worsens respiratory symptoms such as persistent coughs, particularly in older persons. In 2022, there was a rise in emergency visits for respiratory illnesses during periods of intense heat and heavy pollution hot polluted days.  

Mental Health, Vulnerable Populations, and Economic Burden of Air Pollution

Air pollution is not only a public health issue, but also a growing mental health and policy concern. Research in Bangladesh shows that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) significantly increases the risk of depression, particularly in urban areas shaped by dense traffic and continuous construction. Evidence from Breathing Heavy (2022) indicates that even a small increase (a 1% increase) in PM2.5 levels above the World Health Organization’s Air Quality Guidelines (WHO AQG) raises depression risk by 20%. This highlights that cleaner air is important for both physical and emotional well-being and these findings have critical implications for environmental regulation, urban planning, and public health policy. 

The burden of air pollution is disproportionately borne by vulnerable groups, raising urgent concerns for health equity and social protection policy. Women, children, and older adults with chronic illnesses face the greatest risks. In Dhaka, recent research in The Journal of Climate Change and Health shows that women exposed to high levels of air pollution face higher incidences of preterm births (PTB) and low birth weights (LBW) infants. Parental exposure to lead is especially dangerous, increasing the risk of birth defects and damage to the developing brain which can severely impair a newborns’ motor and cognitive development. These outcomes have long-term implications for human capital formation and intergenerational inequality.

Beyond the health implications, air pollution imposes a substantial economic cost. In 2019, pollution-related health effects amounted to roughly 3.9% to 4.4% of Bangladesh’s GDP. At the global level, the World Bank’s Accelerating Access to Clean Air on Livable Planet report estimates that air pollution causes economic losses equivalent to about 5% of global GDP due to healthcare expenditure, productivity losses and reduced life expectancy. 

Overall, the twin threats of climate change and air pollution harm mental and physical health, deepen existing social inequalities, and constrain economic development. These converging risks demand urgent, integrated policy responses that align environmental regulation, public health systems with maternal and child health strategies, and climate action.

Individual Actions: The Starting Point

Addressing air pollution in Bangladesh requires major policy interventions, but sustainable and meaningful change also begins at the individual level. Changes to everyday practices and choices can significantly reduce exposure and emissions. Simple actions, such as quitting smoking, using cleaner cooking fuels, operating energy-efficient vehicles, opting for public transportation, and minimising unnecessary energy consumption, can all make a difference. 

Avoiding the burning of household solid waste and lightly watering dusty areas during home repairs can also help to prevent particulate matter from entering the air. In addition, maintaining greenery through rooftop gardens or balcony plants also keeps local surroundings cool, and enhances local air quality by filtering pollutants.

However, for long-term improvement, promoting and expanding clean energy technologies is essential. Alternative energy sources such as solar power, electricity, biogas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and clean-burning biomass stoves that comply with World Health Organization (WHO) emission standards offer safer, cleaner sustainable solutions. For many rural households, replacing traditional cookstoves with eco-friendly models can greatly improve indoor air quality.

Modernising traditional brick kilns is also critical

Modernising traditional brick kilns is also critical. Traditional brick kilns are widespread in Bangladesh, with many operating illegally near agricultural land, markets and schools. These kilns often burn low-quality coal, contributing heavily to air pollution, damaging crops and reducing soil fertility. Research shows that upgrading to modern, eco-friendly kiln technology, such as improved chimneys and filtration systems, can cut harmful emissions by up to 58%, demonstrating the substantial potential of modernisation to improve air quality and protect public health. Such technologies are already being piloted in Bangladesh with Hybrid Hoffman Kilns (HHKs) under World Bank and WB Kyoto Funds projects, while in Pakistan, a shift to zig-zag kilns upgraded over 600 kilns in two years, cutting an estimated 228,905 tonnes of CO₂ in 2019.

Evidence from Bangladesh demonstrates the tangible benefits of transitioning to cleaner household energy. Evaluations of the Bondhu Chula improved cookstove programme show significant reductions in indoor air pollution, with women experiencing fewer respiratory problems and eye irritation using the Bondhu Chula Friend Stove compared to users of traditional stoves. Similarly, biogas programmes implemented by organisations such as ARS Bangladesh have enabled rural households to shift away from polluting biomass fuels, improving indoor air quality while lowering emissions. 

In highly polluted urban hotspots like Dhaka and Gazipur, protective measures remain especially important. Wearing masks on high pollution days, using low-cost air purification methods at home, and keeping windows closed during peak pollution times can meaningfully reduce exposure. 

While small, these consistent actions accumulate over time, contributing to healthier households, communities and a cleaner environment.

Community Action: The Power of Collective Effort

Communities play a pivotal role in combating air pollution in Bangladesh. Effective control measures depend not only on government action but also on active public participation in monitoring, reporting violations, and contributing to local decision-making. For example, the Dhaka North City Corporation has partnered with community organisations and research institutions to study air pollution and identify practical local solutions, showing how city-level and community engagement can guide action. They are installing air quality sensors in all wards of Dhaka to collect real-time data and guide local pollution solutions.

Public outreach and awareness campaigns are equally essential for encouraging and driving behavioral change.  Nationwide youth-led networks under initiatives like the UNDP Let’s Breathe Well campaign have mobilised university clubs and youth groups to raise awareness about air pollution and promote practical actions, such as reducing private vehicle use and adopting greener daily practices and have reached around 4 million people through their activities.

Other grassroots outreach efforts, such as public rallies under the slogan “We Demand Clean Air” and interactive demonstrations like “Save Your Breath – Shakti for Clean Air (Shakti Foundation), have engaged citizens directly in understanding pollution impacts and advocating for cleaner environments.  The visual demonstration shows a pair of artificial lungs on a billboard that “breathe in” polluted air and visibly darken from white to black over time, illustrating how ambient air pollution harms healthy lungs.

Citizen-led initiatives can also produce measurable differences. A 2024 study demonstrates that planting trees and maintaining green spaces in and around urban areas can significantly lower particulate matter concentrations. Together, these collective efforts demonstrate the power of community engagement in reducing health risks, strengthening public awareness, and improving local air quality.

The Role of Government Action

Government intervention is central to addressing Bangladesh’s escalating air pollution crisis. Meaningful progress depends not only on national strategies but also in their effective implementation. Over the past decade, Bangladesh has introduced a range of policies to curb emissions, promoting cleaner technologies, and strengthening institutional coordination for improved governance (for example the Clean Air Strategy and climate action programs and Air Pollution Reduction Strategy for Bangladesh). More recently, building on these efforts, Bangladesh introduced concrete measures for monitoring, enforcement and cleaner technologies, a Clean Air Bill in 2019 and National Air Quality Management Action Plan in 2024.

While these national policies have laid a strong foundation by establishing air quality monitoring systems and legal frameworks, real-world improvements have been slow. Data from Dhaka indicates that genuinely clean air has been rare in recent years, with unhealthy and hazardous conditions occurring frequently. Experts consistently highlight weak enforcement and limited inter-ministerial collaboration as barriers to unlocking the full potential of these policies.

International experience also offers valuable lessons. Beijing, for example has successfully reduced PM2.5 concentrations by 57% while maintaining economic growth through targeted measures that Bangladesh could learn from. These included phasing out coal in households and industry, closing or upgrading over 2,000 polluting factories, converting household heating to cleaner fuels, developing electric mass transit systems, promoting cleaner vehicles and expanding green areas. Crucially, these measures were also supported by robust air quality monitoring, stricter enforcement of  pollution standards and regional coordination with surrounding provinces. Public awareness campaigns complemented these actions, demonstrating how decisive policy, enforcement and community engagement can significantly improve air quality. 

For Bangladesh strengthening air quality monitoring systems, investing in research, fostering regional cooperation, raising public awareness, and enforcing the ‘polluter pays’ principle are critical steps toward achieving cleaner air and safeguarding public health. The government recently approved a project to set up 24 roadside air quality monitoring stations in Dhaka and Chattogram (the second-largest city in Bangladesh) to better capture vehicle emissions data. At the same time, the government is expanding its capacity through Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) which will support pollutants analysis and support policy design. CAMS house instruments that measure the amount of pollutants

Ongoing investments supported by international partners such as the World Bank will hopefully further strengthen monitoring networks, improve emissions control and facilitate regional dialogue and data sharing to address transboundary pollution. Enhanced real-time data systems will also enable more effective enforcement of emissions standards, ensuring greater compliance and accountability.

Every Breath Counts: Collective Action is Key

Air Pollution and climate change are no longer distant challenges, they are urgent, interconnected threats to Bangladesh’s health, economy and environment right now. Cleaner air and healthier communities are possible if we address both challenges and act in a coordinated way. Proven, actionable solutions already exist. Individuals can make cleaner, greener choices. Communities can protect and expand green spaces. The government can enforce environmental regulations and accelerate investment in clean energy.

Every improvement made today strengthens resilience for the future, helping ensure that the air people breathe in Bangladesh supports life and wellbeing rather than posing a daily risk.