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Air pollution remains one of the leading causes of deaths in Bangladesh, reducing the life expectancy of residents by 5.5 years, according to the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) 2025 annual update.
In Dhaka, the most populous district in Bangladesh, an average resident could potentially gain 6.9 years of life expectancy if air quality met the WHO guideline.
In Chittagong, the country's second most populous district, residents would gain 6.2 years.
All of Bangladesh's 166.8 million people live in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds both the WHO guideline and the country's national standard of 35 µg/m³, according to the AQLI study published by the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute on Thursday.
The greatest external threat to life expectancy in the country takes 5.5 years off the life of the average Bangladeshi, while tobacco use takes off 2 years, and child and maternal malnutrition take off 1.4 years, said the report.
Even in the least polluted district of Lalmonirhat, particulate pollution is 7 times the WHO guideline.
Between 1998 and 2023, particulate concentrations in Bangladesh increased by 66.2 percent, further reducing life expectancy by 2.4 years.
The AQLI is rooted in research that quantifies the causal relationship between long-term human exposure to air pollution and life expectancy.
The Index then combines this research with hyper-localized, satellite measurements of global particulate matter (PM2.5), yielding unprecedented insight into the true cost of pollution in communities around the world.
The Index also illustrates how air pollution policies can increase life expectancy when they meet the World Health Organization's guideline for what is considered a safe level of exposure, existing national air quality standards, or user-defined air quality levels.
Bangladesh is among the top 10 most polluted countries in the world, with pollution 12.2 times higher than the WHO guideline and 2.5 times higher than the global average.
In South Asia, pollution increased by 2.8 percent from 2022 to 2023, after a slight dip in 2022 compared to 2021.
Despite these fluctuations, South Asia remains the most polluted region in the world, with pollution cutting life expectancy short by 3 years on average and more than 8 years in the most polluted areas.
In the region's most polluted countries, particulate pollution's impact on life expectancy is nearly twice that of childhood and maternal malnutrition and more than five times that of unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing.
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