ISLAMABAD: The provincial capital of Punjab, Lahore, despite the fact ‘smog season’ has not formally set in, is declared the most polluted city of the world.
According to the IQAir, a Swiss air quality watchdog, specialising in protection against airborne pollutants, Lahore tops the world in poor air quality ranking and suffers from high levels of air pollution, with the city regularly ranking at the top of IQAir AirVisual’s live pollution rankings of major global cities.
According to IQAir’s live pollution ranking, the top most polluted city Lahore is followed by Wuhan (China) and Dhaka (Bangladesh).
The IQAir ranking showed on Tuesday the city’s Particulate Matter (PM) or Air Quality Index (AQI) swelling to 231 between 9am and 5pm. This classified the city under the “unhealthy” category of air quality.
A day earlier, the provincial capital was ranked second after Delhi but even then it was included among the top five cities with bad air quality in the world. On Tuesday, however, its ranking worsened and it topped the list with Wuhan coming second (185 PM) and Dhaka (184) third respectively.
Earlier, India’s capital Delhi was on top the list on Sunday but on Tuesday it stood fourth with 179 PM followed by another Indian city Kolkata with 177.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency air quality of a city is considered satisfactory if the AQI is under 50.
According to IQAir, two countries—India and China — are heavily represented on IQAir’s Live City Ranking with seven out of 10 cities.
Transport, industry major contributor to Lahore’s pollution
According to the environmental experts and in the light of a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the cause of smog can be traced in years-long pollution caused mostly by the transport sector and industries, and not just crop burning.
The Punjab government, while taking notice of the deteriorating level of air quality, has decided to take action against those causing air and environmental pollution through the burning of crop stubble, garbage as well as the industrial, vehicular emissions.
The district administrative officers have been directed to enforce the Section 144 imposed throughout the province as part of the efforts to combat the smog.
Under section 144, the burning of crop residue and garbage have been banned across the province for one month from October 6.
People face health issues as smog engulfs city gradually
As the weather is turning cold, smog has started engulfing the provincial metropolis gradually, blurring vision and causing serious health problems for citizens.
According to health officials, there could be several scientific studies on the link between diseases and pollution.
They might include premature death in people with heart or lung disease, non-fatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma, lung malfunctioning, increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty in breathing.
