Pakistan: Thick smog blankets Lahore, normal life, flight operation disrupted

Islamabad: A heavy, thick cloud of smog continues to envelop Pakistan’s cultural capital Lahore as well as most of the cities of Punjab and Friday once again saw cancellation and delay of many domestic and international flights from the Lahore Airport and closure of the highways and motorways.

The smog that has blanketed the city along with the cold weather is also causing health issues particularly for school going children.

The Lahore High Court (LHC), which took notice of the hazardous level of smog in the provincial metropolis, following a petition directed the provincial government to announce annual winter vacation from December 20.

The judge also ordered the relevant authorities to continue taking action against violators of traffic rules and to seal those brick kilns which failed to pay fine as ordered by the judicial commission.

‘Grilled fish, barbecue main cause behind smog’

During the hearing of the petitions pertaining to environmental issues, an official of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) told the court that the higher consumption of grilled fish and steak in the chilly weather was one of the reasons for rising pollution and smog.

He submitted that the issue could be resolved by curtailing markets and restaurant timings.

However, the judge Justice Shahid Karim turned down the suggestion and asked the authority to look for other option.

The court directed the provincial law officer to discuss the option of commencing winter break in schools from Dec 20

This is first time an official of the Punjab government has attributed smog to bonfire, barbequing and grilling of fishing.

Earlier, last month at the start of ‘fog/smog season’ in last week of November, a senior official of the environment department had claimed that smog was caused due to massive crop burning from the neighbouring Indian border villages.

The petitioners’ counsel Azhar Siddique and Sheraz Zaka submitted that the climate change had become a severe threat to human life and if the issue was not dealt on a war footing basis, the future generations would face disastrous consequences.

Flight delays hit Lahore, Sialkot airports

Several flights from the Lahore and Sialkot airports faced delays due to the critical smog situation.

Four flights scheduled for Lahore were diverted to Islamabad.

Similarly trains schedule from Karachi and Quetta was also affected.

Lahore has consistently been ranked as one of the most polluted cities in the world on the Air Quality Index for some time now.