Smog chokes Lahore

LAHORE: The provincial metropolis on Sunday wore a blanket of thick smog and was ranked among the world’s most polluted cities due to its deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI), which reached 288.

The real-time value of PM 2.5 concentration in Lahore was 47.7 times higher than the WHO annual air quality guideline value and it posed serious health hazards for citizens. Experts said that presently Lahore was suffering from very high levels of air pollution. They said it seemed that all measures taken by the city administration as well as the provincial government to bring down the AQI have failed and it remained on the higher side.

The experts said overall air pollution caused the country to be ranked as the second most polluted in the world. They added that air pollution in Lahore was caused by a combination of vehicle and industrial emissions, smoke from kilns, burning of crop residue and general waste, and dust from construction sites. Other factors of air pollution included large-scale losses of trees to build new roads and buildings.

Besides the international level, Lahore also stood first among other cities of the country for its higher value of AQI. Data collected from IQAir, the AQI of Lahore was 288, Peshawar was second with 184, Islamabad third with 166, Rawalpindi fourth with 164, Haripur fifth in the list with 159 and Karachi sixth with 91.

Similarly, in the international ranking of top ten most polluted cities, Lahore was first with 288, Beijing, China, second with 209, Delhi, India, third with 188, Wuhan, China, fourth with 182, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, fifth with 173, Dhaka sixth with 159, Shenyang, China, seventh with 155, Mumbai eighth with 153, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, ninth with 153 and Jakarta was tenth with 151.

Sources in Lahore’s commissioner office admitted that smog had intensified due to various reasons. They said the major issue was ongoing development projects in the city. Sources said vehicular pollution’s contribution in Lahore’s smog was very high but ironically the government was not taking the issue seriously. They said if the number of vehicles was reduced, it would help tackle the issue.

Though the LDA has strictly directed the contractors of projects to sprinkle water on the site and side roads, the issue was not tackled properly.

A senior official attached with the commissioner said smog had intensified due to wind direction from India to Pakistan, which carried smoke of their stubble burning. He said the district administration was well aware of the fact and was taking measures to tackle the issue.

He said the commissioner had scheduled a meeting on Monday (today) of all departments to discuss the smog issue. He said a summary may also be re-initiated to the caretaker Punjab government to declare Wednesday a public holiday to break the cycle. The administration was also planning to declare one day a week a cycle day.

When contacted, the EPA DG didn’t respond while the department’s focal person was also not available.

On the other hand, the Met Office said continental air prevailed over most parts of country. It predicted mainly dry weather while cold in upper parts during night and morning hours. Sunday’s lowest minimum temperature was recorded at Leh where the mercury dropped down to -03°C while in Lahore it was 17.4°C and maximum was 30°C.