GovTwin / Institution
Dhaka District
Local Gov
Bangladesh's capital district and primate city, the political, financial, and administrative core of the country, set on the Buriganga floodplain. It is the wealthiest district by mean Relative Wealth Index but carries the heaviest urban-environmental burden in the nation, from extreme air pollution to surface heat and built-up saturation.
Wealth rank 64/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.6°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #3/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +71%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 141 km²
Forest loss 174 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 2,053 mm/yr
Indicators: Meta RWI (HDX); ERA5-Land; MODIS; Sentinel-5P; VIIRS night-lights; GHSL; Hansen v1.11; CHIRPS v2.0. Exposure: GloFAS v2.1, FABDEM, MODIS LST, ACAG PM2.5, WorldPop 2020.
Problems and issues
- air quality Tropospheric NO2 reaches 126.9 umol/m2, the 3rd-highest of 64 districts, driven by traffic, brick kilns, and industry concentrated in the capital region. So what: Chronic nitrogen-dioxide exposure at this scale drives respiratory and cardiovascular disease across the most densely populated district in the country, with large public-health and productivity costs. Source: Sentinel-5P tropospheric NO2 via Google Earth Engine
- urbanization Built-up surface stands at 141.1 km2 and has grown 26% since 2000, the largest built footprint of the assigned districts, with only 40.0 km2 of permanent water remaining for drainage. So what: Relentless impervious-surface expansion against shrinking water bodies removes the floodplain's natural drainage, intensifying waterlogging and stripping the city of cooling green and blue space. Source: GHSL built-up surface (JRC) via Google Earth Engine
- environment Daytime land surface temperature has risen 0.58 C with a recent level of 28.2 C, compounding an air-temperature warming of 0.6 C, the urban heat-island signature of a fully built-out core. So what: Rising surface heat raises cooling demand, heat-stress mortality among the urban poor, and grid load, hitting outdoor workers and slum dwellers hardest. Source: MODIS MOD11A2 land surface temperature (daytime) via Google Earth Engine
- economy Nightlights radiance grew only 71% with a national growth rank of 51, slow relative to faster-rising peripheral districts, signaling a maturing, congested core rather than expansionary growth. So what: A capital whose economic-activity proxy is plateauing while costs of congestion and pollution climb points to diminishing returns from further densification without decentralization. Source: VIIRS nighttime lights (annual radiance) via Google Earth Engine
- water Permanent surface water covers just 40.0 km2, the legacy of decades of canal and wetland encroachment around the Buriganga floodplain. So what: Loss of natural retention ponds and canals leaves the city dependent on overburdened pumped drainage, worsening monsoon waterlogging despite 2053.0 mm annual rainfall. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Enforce zig-zag/cleaner brick-kiln conversion, tighten vehicle emission inspection, and expand the Dhaka mass-transit network to cut traffic NO2 at source. Responsible: Department of Environment · policy proposal
- Protect and restore designated canals, retention ponds, and floodplain under enforced detailed area planning, halting fill of remaining water bodies. Responsible: RAJUK (Capital Development Authority) · policy proposal
- Mandate cool/green roofs, street-tree corridors, and pocket parks in the detailed area plan to break the urban heat island. Responsible: Dhaka North and South City Corporations · policy proposal
- Decentralize public offices and industry to satellite districts to relieve capital congestion and rebalance regional economic activity. Responsible: Ministry of Public Administration · policy proposal