Increasing Ambient Air Pollution Raises Risk of Respiratory Illness

Islamabad: After the air quality of the federal capital deteriorated due to persistent dry weather that followed in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, the rise in air pollution raised fears that the number of people suffering from respiratory ailments would climb.

At the beginning of fall season with a little warm weather, the dry weather led to an increase in the production of dust and other particulate matter in the atmosphere. The Federal Capital’s ambience started tainting as air pollution levels rose steadily as a result of rising vehicle emissions and human activity.

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Senior Pulmonologist Dr Ziaul Haq said that dry and cold air is the two main causes of respiratory illnesses during the winter.

He claimed, “Although there was no rupture in the respiratory track, the internal surfaces of the throat and lungs did contain normal bacteria.”

As a result of a person being exposed to the outdoors more frequently, the dry and cold air at different phases caused gaps in the lining of the respiratory tract, which in turn cause infections and harm the natural secretions produced by the breathing organs.

Dr Haq apprised that there has recently been an increase in the number of cases of persons experiencing breathing or respiratory issues, most of which were reported after November 15 during extremely cold weather.

“Pulmonologists typically recommend getting vaccinated against the flu during the peak winter season to prevent respiratory diseases for anyone over 50 years of age or patients who have chronic heart, kidney, or lung conditions.”

Senior pulmonologist urged people to avoid needless, prolonged outside visits during cold weather morning and evening hours. In case of any visit, people are also instructed to appropriately protect their eyes and face by donning masks and coverings.

In addition, he advised the populace to drink warm fluids regularly, such as warm water and hot tea, to prevent respiratory system damage caused by the bad weather and air quality.

Low Air quality

The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) collected the air quality data for 24 hours on the basis of three intervals of eight hours of data collection from various places throughout the federal capital.

According to the Pak-EPA daily report, the air quality throughout the three intervals of data monitoring remained low as the ratio of pollutants ratio was below the permissible limits of national environmental quality standards (NEQS).

The bad or unhealthy air quality is indicated by the hazardous air pollutant particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5), a deadly atmospheric contaminant, which continued to average 42 micrograms per cubic metre, exceeding the NEQS of 35 micrograms per cubic metre.

The combustion of an engine, industrial pollutants, the burning of trash or combustible materials, and dust kicked up by fast-moving vehicles travelling on unpaved sections of the road are the main sources of PM2.5.

Matter of Global Concern

World Health Organization data show that almost all of the global population (99%) breath air that exceeds WHO Air Quality Guidelines and contains high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures.

As such, outdoor air pollution poses an increasing threat to public health and causes 4.2 million deaths every year, according to the WHO. APP