128,000 Lives Lost Yearly to Air Pollution, Smog

Dr Saeed Ahmad Ali

Lahore: On November 2nd, the capital city of Punjab was shrouded in a thick blanket of smog, obscuring even its towering buildings and historic landmarks. The streets were crowded with motorbike riders determined to push through the haze, but the air was tainted with the acrid scent of diesel and charcoal, forcing many families to carry on with their daily businesses in these challenging conditions.

Air pollution and smog, two widespread and critical issues globally, are exacting a heavy toll in Pakistan, causing an estimated 128,000 deaths annually, as per the recent report from the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution.

The air quality index (AQI) continued to depict a troubling picture in the provincial metropolis on Thursday. In the early morning, the AQI ranged between 192 and 200, according to the Met Office. An AQI reading between 201 and 300 is considered even more harmful, and any value exceeding 300 is classified as extremely hazardous.

Lahore’s air quality index has deteriorated badly over the past two decades; a period during which an estimated 70 percent of its tree-cutting was carried out to make way for residents, housing schemes, developmental projects and industrial units.

Services Hospital Dr Khalid said that the most vulnerable to the hazardous effects of smog are individuals with heart disease, coronary artery disease, or congestive heart failure; individuals with lung diseases; pregnant women; outdoor workers; elderly citizens; children under the age of 14; and players and athletes who work vigorously outdoors.The Punjab government has declared a smog emergency for a month to combat pollution in the province, making it mandatory for all school students to wear masks. The action was taken after the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a direction for immediate measures to control hazardous air quality.

Experts believe that small industrial units and factories using tires and plastic as fuel in Lahore, farmers burning crop residues in suburban districts, and brick-kilns working without zigzag technology are major causes of the smog blanketing the city currently.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed in its report that public vehicles still run predominantly on a type of highly polluting sulphur-laden gas that contributes around 40 percent of the air pollution in Lahore and the surrounding cities and villages of the province.

According to EPD Director Naseem-ur-Rehman Shah, 62 factories have been found contributing to smog in Lahore by using harmful materials like plastic waste, tires, rubber and old clothes as fuel.

The Special Branch police have sent a letter to the Lahore commissioner, suggesting action against officers responsible for the operations of such factories.

Environmentalist Mahmood Khalid Qamar mentioned that the smoke produced by the burning of crop residues, shoe factory waste, the use of unrecommended coal, the burning of trash, black oil and tires is deteriorating the atmosphere.

An increased trend in air pollution in winter, a change in the wind speed and direction, and a sliding minimum temperature increase air pollution, said Environmentalist Kashif Salik. Kashif further said that the air becomes heavier in the winter as compared to the summer, causing poisonous particles, including toxic oxides, in the atmosphere to move downward and making the atmosphere polluted. As a result, a thick layer of polluted particles, including large amounts of carbon and smoke, can cover any megacity easily.

Meanwhile, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Captain (retd) Mustansar Feroze has intensified a crackdown on smoky vehicles. Transport owners should ply their vehicles only after proper repair and checkup, otherwise violators will be taken to task, he warned.

According to an LHC order, vehicles emitting smoke would be fined Rs 2,000.During the current year, 48,331 smoke-emitting vehicles were issued fine tokens, CTO added. Capt Feroze further said that an awareness campaign would be conducted in collaboration with the bus owners’ union regarding possible smog and environmental pollution.

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