In the capital city, Shahbagh area is at the top in air pollution and Gulshan-2 area is at the top in noise pollution. The Centre for Air Pollution Studies (CAPS) confirmed the information at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday (May 29).
The study was funded by UAID and initiated by Water Keepers Bangladesh (WKB), Department of Geography and Environment at Jahangirnagar University and Department of Environmental Sciences, Stamford University. Air quality and noise quality data of Ahsan Manzil, Abdullahpur, Motijheel, Shahbag, Dhanmondi-32, Sangsad area, Tejgaon, Agargaon, Mirpur-10 and Gulshan-2 of the capital in one year from April 2021 to March this year were collected and analysed in a scientific process.
At the press conference, the chairman of the CAPS and Professor of the Department of Environmental Sciences at Stamford University Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumdar delivered the information in a written statement.
He said that the situation was ‘unhealthy’ according to the air quality indicators of 10 places in Dhaka city. The average annual presence of particulate matter in these places is 2.5 ppm that is 77 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which is 5.1 times higher than the standard (15 micrograms). In addition, the average annual presence of particulate matter is 105 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which is on average 2.1 times higher than the annual norm (50 micrograms).
According to the research report, the highest air pollution out of 10 places is in Shahbag area, where the average presence of PM2.5 is 85 micrograms per cubic meter. That is 5.6 times higher than the norm and the lowest air pollution in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban area, the average presence of PM2.5 is 70 grams per cubic meter that is 4.6 times higher than the standard.
According to the report on noise pollution, the highest noise level is found in Gulshan-2 area out of 10 areas of Dhaka city is LEQ 95.44 decibels, which is 1.7 times higher than the standard (55 decibels). It is followed by Abdullahpur at 95.43 decibels, which is 1.6 times higher than the national standard (60 decibels). On the other hand, the lowest LEQ value in Tejgaon area was 89 decibels, which is 1.1 times higher than the national standard (65). The maximum noise recorded in the study was 132 decibels which was in Gulshan-2 area and the lowest noise recorded was 31.7 decibels in Parliament area.
