Labourers working in a brickyard in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Rapid urbanisation in Bangladesh is generating huge demand for bricks. Much of the soil used for brick-making is taken from agricultural land. This topsoil extraction leads to a decrease in the fertility of the land, impacting agricultural productivity. Brick kilns are also a significant contributor to air pollution in Bangladesh, which is rated as one of the most polluted countries in the world by the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI).