Air quality in Azimpur

Does Azimpur have a bad level of air pollution?

Azimpur is located in the old region of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It is subject to some fairly bad levels of air pollution throughout the year, with some episodes that make the air highly dangerous to breathe, and as such would present many health risks to its citizens. Looking at some of these pollution levels, it can be seen that in late April of 2021, Azimpur was on record with a US AQI reading of 142, a high number that would place it in the ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ pollution ratings bracket for that particular period of time.

As the name suggests, those who are extra sensitive to chemical pollutants and certain particulate matter will suffer from more adverse health issues, although it should be noted that any level of air pollution has the possibility of causing these health problems to occur, and as such this chance rises rapidly along with the pollution level.

Looking at the US AQI readings present in the days and months prior to the aforementioned reading taken in late April, it can be seen that both March and early April had many days in which the US AQI level rose to other significant levels whereby they could cause damage to those who are over exposed. US AQI refers to a standard of measurement by which several types of pollution are used to calculate the AQI, or air quality index. Some of these include PM10, PM2.5 (which is a prominent measure of pollution in its own right, due to its small size and numerous health risks it presents), as well as ozone (O₃).

Looking back at the readings taken over the course of 2020 as a concise way of examining what the air quality level in Azimpur is like month by month, it can be seen that it had a yearly average PM2.5 reading of 55.7 μg/m³, one that placed it within the ‘unhealthy’ ratings bracket, which requires a PM2.5 reading of anywhere between 55.5 to 150.4 μg/m³ to be classified as such. This is a high reading for a yearly average, indicating that many months of the year would be extremely harmful in regards to their air quality, with some of these months being discussed in short.

This reading of 55.7 μg/m³, whilst only just placing it within the ‘unhealthy’ rankings bracket, still placed it very highly amongst all cities worldwide, coming in at 3rd place out of all cities currently ranked in Bangladesh, as well as 60th place out of all cities ranked worldwide, making it one of the top hundred most polluted cities worldwide, as of 2020. As such, there is much that Azimpur can do to improve its air quality in the coming years, both for its environment and for the health of its citizens.

What are the main causes of polluted air in Azimpur?

Azimpur has a large number of different polluting sources occurring that all come together to see the heightened levels of both PM2.5 and US AQI on record. In further detail, PM2.5 refers to particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, making it roughly 30% the size of a human hair. It can go down to sizes many times smaller than this, as well as being comprised from all manner of materials, and with these properties, it thus presents significant risks to human health when inhaled.

This small size can allow it to enter the bloodstream via the air sacs in the lungs (usually reserved for the transportation of oxygen), and once inside the body, wreak all kinds of havoc on a person’s health. The main causes of these fine and coarse (PM10) particles would be ones such as fires, coming from either brick kilns, the open burning of refuse and garbage, construction sites or road repairs, as well as any mass disturbance of earth or gravel.

Vehicles are also a source of fine particulate matter, along with many other numerous chemical compounds and hazardous materials. Many of the vehicles present in Azimpur would be of the severely aged variety, meaning that they would leak large amounts of noxious oil vapors, as well as giving out far larger amounts of pollution.

Factories and industrial areas also play a significant role in the accumulation of air pollution in Azimpur, using large amounts of coal, natural gas and diesel fuel, as well as giving off their own unique industrial effluence (heavy metals, plastic fumes), particularly when stringent air quality rules are not enforced on certain facilities or businesses.

When does Azimpur experience the highest levels of pollution over the year?

Azimpur has several months of the year with severe levels of air pollution present, and to quote the figures from 2020, the first three months of the year had the worst levels of air quality. January to March had respective readings of 139.9 μg/m³, 115.8 μg/m³ and 73.6 μg/m³, before the air pollution levels dropped down to somewhat more appreciable numbers. This made January the most polluted month of the year with its sizeable reading of 139.9 μg/m³, putting it in the top end of the ‘unhealthy’ pollution ratings bracket.

Does Azimpur have any months with better air quality?

After the first three months of the year were done with, Azimpur entered into a period of time in which the air quality became considerably better, although it is salient that they started to rise again in October, indicating that as a pattern, pollution levels would start to rise at the end of the year and hit an absolute peak in the early months of the following year.

The cleanest months of the year on record over 2020 were June through to September, all of which fell within the ‘moderate’ pollution ratings bracket (12.1 to 35.4 μg/m³). July had the cleanest level of air quality with a decent reading of 21.6 μg/m³.

What are some of the main types of pollution found in Azimpur?

The main types of pollution found in Azimpur would be ones that typically arise from both combustion sources and fine particulate matter sources. These include ones such as black carbon (the main component of soot) as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Some examples of prominent VOCs include chemicals such as benzene, toluene, xylene, methylene chloride and formaldehyde.

Other pollutants include nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂), as well as the previously mentioned ozone, which is formed via chemical reactions in the air when the various oxides of nitrogen, exhaust fumes and other gases meet under optimal conditions, typically with heavy sunlight exposure.