Breathing in poison

Air pollution led to 1,73,500 deaths in Bangladesh last year, says a global report as experts find the country's air becoming increasingly poisonous in the absence of effective measures to control the release of pollutants. In Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, 100% of the population live in areas where PM2.5 levels (Air Quality Index) are higher than that in the WHO Air Quality Guideline. "The message for us could not be clearer, we need urgent and sustained action to clean up the air both outdoors and in the home. The need is especially acute in South Asia where mothers and children are chronically exposed to very high levels of air pollution," said Professor Zulfiqar, Founding Director at the Aga Khan University's Institute for Global Health and Development.