Dhaka, March 28 -- Bangladesh faces alarming levels of pollution and environmental health risks that disproportionately harm the most vulnerable people - the poor, children under 5, the elderly, and women, says a new World Bank report.

The report titled 'Bangladesh Country Environmental Analysis' has found air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene, and lead exposure cause over 272,000 premature deaths and 5.2 billion days of illness annually.

These environmental costs were equivalent to 17.6 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2019, it added, saying that household and outdoor air pollution have the most detrimental effect on health, leading to nearly 55 per cent of premature deaths, which alone cost 8.32 per cent of GDP in 20...