World’s most polluted city
Lahore once again sets unique record
With the start of the summer months, many of us will begin looking forward to the next outdoor festival. If you plan on attending one of these fun-filled events, be sure to bring your sunscreen along for this season’s hottest trend.
Lahore is called the city of gardens. But these days it is difficult to breathe the healthy air of Lahore. Because of the increasing number of vehicles in the city, the air quality is getting very bad.
On Monday, the worst air quality was noted around 2am, when the AQI US was 438, according to the iqair.com, which monitors the air quality across the world.
This is hazardous for the people of Lahore. At the time of filing this report, the air quality index of Lahore was hazardous 303.
The average air quality index is around 300 or 400. So if the AQI is less than 50, you can still breathe comfortably.
The Environment Protection Department (EPD) own data, shared online, showed the worst air quality in Lahore at 309.
AQI reaches hazardous 438; smoke from vehicles, industry, fields and constructions among main reasons
The average air quality index is around 300 or 400. So if the AQI is less than 50, you can still breathe comfortably.
The Environment Protection Department (EPD) own data, shared online, showed the worst air quality in Lahore at 309.
According to a recent Air Quality Index (AQI) ranking in real-time, Lahore was followed by Delhi, Nur Sultan (Kazakhstan), Dubai and Dhaka.
In 2018, Lahore was the world’s 10th cleanest city. In 2017, Lahore was ranked by air quality monitor IQAir AirVisual in the World’s 10th Cleanest Cities..Overall, Pakistan’s air quality in 2017 is classified as “very unhealthy” with an annual average PM
2.5 level of
3.7 µg/m³.
Punjab’s government has instructed the administrative secretaries concerned, commissioners and deputy commissioners (DCs) to take all measures to mitigate the health hazard in the form of worst air quality across the province.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal presided over a meeting on smog control at the Civil Secretariat on Tuesday. The administrative secretaries of various departments, including environment protection, local government, industries, agriculture, transport, and health, deputy commissioner of Lahore and officers concerned attended the meeting. The DCs of Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur, Okara, Sahiwal, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Narowal, and Faisalabad participated through a video link.
The chief secretary directed all the departments to beef up efforts to smog control and hold consultative sessions with civil society.
The briefing said that the smoke from burning crop residues in the fields across the border is affecting the air quality of Lahore.
According to the chief executive, the smog situation in the capital is comparatively better than last year but a lot of work needs to be done to control environmental pollution.
He ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to hold consultation sessions with all the stakeholders, including the civil society.
It is true that it would be helpful to use ideas from the civil society when dealing with environmental pollution problems.
The government decided to do inspections of all the government vehicles.
Briefing the meeting, the EPD secretary said that in October, the authorities sealed 1,058 industrial units causing environmental pollution, registered 696 cases and imposed fines of more than Rs24m on those causing pollution. The inspection teams sealed 583 industrial units, lodged FIRs and imposed fines of over Rs34m in Lahore. He said that during the last two weeks, 46,000 inspections were conducted and 3,168 smoke-emitting vehicles were impounded. Likewise, 20 cases were registered over burning garbage during the last one month.
The secretary said that due to the direction of the wind, the smoke from burning crop residues across the border is affecting Lahore.
sources: Dawn, November 2nd, 2022