Vehicular Emissions Leading Case of Capital’s Poor Air Quality

APP

Islamabad: Vehicular emissions emerged as a primary contributor to poor air quality in Islamabad, as highlighted in a recent press release from the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA).

An unnamed official from the agency noted that industrial emissions have significantly decreased, attributing this decline to the implementation of carbon-absorbing advanced technology across multiple steel manufacturing units.

It is worth mentioning that the air quality of the federal capital was recorded as unhealthy on Sunday as the air pollution ratio in the atmosphere was beyond the permissible limits of the national environmental quality standards of the Pak-EPA as dry and cloudy weather clouted the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The Pak-EPA daily air quality report indicated an increased ratio of air pollutants recorded below permissible limits, and the air quality was unhealthy. The agency is responsible for ensuring the protection of the environment under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997.

The hazardous air pollutant particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5), which was a hazardous atmospheric contaminant, remained at 52.6 micrograms per cubic metre on average, which was higher than the national environmental quality standards (NEQS) of 35 micrograms per cubic metre and denoted the air quality unhealthily.

PM2.5 is generated through the combustion of an engine, industrial emissions, burning garbage or inflammable material, and dust blown up by fast-moving cars plying on non-cemented patches of the roads.

The EPA officials claimed that vehicular emissions, due to increased automobiles, were one of the leading causes of bad air quality.

Industrial emissions have already subsided due to carbon-absorbing advanced technology installed at various steel manufacturing units.

When calculated at the Air Quality Index (AQI) calculator of AirNow, the PM2.5 concentrations revealed an AQI of 143, leaving the air quality status to be unhealthy for a sensitive group, which left people with mainly respiratory and heart diseases, the elderly, and children mostly at high risk of contracting respiratory or health complications due to air pollutants in the atmosphere.

The experts urged the people belonging to the sensitive group to avoid prolonged and heavy exertion outdoors.