Mortality and Economic Costs of Ambient Air Pollution in Six Major Cities of Bangladesh

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 Air Quality, Climate Change and Health (ACH) Unit, Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh

2 Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh

3 Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dhaka, Bangladesh

4 Climate Change and Health Promotion Unit, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dhaka, Bangladesh

5 Department of Urban Planning and Design, University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR, China

6 Health Economics Unit, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom

7 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom

10.22059/poll.2026.406643.3202

Abstract

Ambient air pollution remains a leading environmental risk factor for premature mortality and economic loss, particularly in rapidly urbanizing low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh, where empirical city-level evidence remains limited.  This study aimed to quantify the long-term mortality burden (all-cause and cause-specific cardiovascular, respiratory, and lung cancer mortality) and associated economic costs attributable to ambient PM2.5 in six major cities of Bangladesh between 2013 and 2021. The annual concentrations of ambient PM2.5 from Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) of six selected cities (Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna, and Barisal) of Bangladesh were used for exposure assessment in this study. The present study applied literature-derived Concentration- exposure- response functions to estimate the all-cause and cause-specific mortality burden linked to PM2.5 among those living in the cities during study period. A valuation of the economic loss attributed to premature mortality was made utilizing the Value of Statistical Life methods. In 2021, the average mortality burden of PM2.5 in the six cities per 100,000 population was 260 (95% CI: 142-370) premature deaths from all causes, 112 (95% CI: 61-160) from cardiovascular diseases, 25 (95% CI: 13-38) from respiratory diseases, and 3 (95% CI: 1-4) from lung cancer. The economic costs for all-cause mortality related to PM2.5 across six cities were estimated to be $23 billion USD ($19.3-$26.7) in 2021. These findings highlight the substantial public health and economic burden of ambient air pollution in urban areas and underscore the urgent need for strengthened air quality management and evidence-based policy interventions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Pollution
Volume 12, Issue 2
May 2026
Pages 545-559

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