A Legal Analysis on Air Pollution in Bangladesh: Human Rights Perspective

Air is an indispensable ingredient in all living organisms. Breathing clean air is part and parcel of one’s right to health. Moreover, reducing pollutants in the air is crucial for the environment too. Regrettably, due to the lack of timely interference in this concern, air pollution has been transformed into the world’s largest environmental health threat right now. In this horrendous scenario, the air quality of Bangladesh was positioned as the worst in the world for four years in a row, whereas Dhaka ranked the second most polluted capital in the world, according to the 2021 World Air Quality Report by IQAir. As air pollution is causing a serious threat to the right to health, this paper endeavours to discern the sources of air pollution in Bangladesh. Further, this paper intends to investigate existing laws and policies on preventing air pollution with a view to checking their sufficiency, efficiency and contemporariness. Last but not least, this paper would like to find out the obstacles to ensuring air quality and suggest viable solutions in this regard. A qualitative method has been applied, and data have been collected from secondary sources, which have been processed and presented accordingly.