Smog is particularly defined as fog or haze intensified by smoke and atmospheric pollutants
LAHORE: Smog is particularly defined as fog or haze intensified by smoke and atmospheric pollutants. There are two views in the urban society of Pakistan: one argues that the environmental damage is the biggest damage that we are doing to our next generations, while the other says that everything is a natural process and we can’t play any role in it. Pakistan in particular is not a big contributor of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions but is among the top worst countries that are facing the impacts of climate change.
Nature has its own system but the mindsets in societies have a key role in driving the process. Similarly, the case in Lahore is that of exponential increase of industries and of vehicles and their mismanagement of raw materials creating smog. It is time the local government and stakeholders contributed towards pollution control and green economy concepts, before climate change poses a great challenge for our economy and health.
The real culprits are the people who snub the discussion of climate change by saying kuch nahi hota (nothing will happen). The world is changing and new weather events are the indicators of climate change. So educating people will go a long way in reversing the trend of climate change. The government of Punjab must ensure the use of scrubbers in factories and for motor vehicles. It’s time to formulate new policies and strictly implement them in order to combat these disasters.
Muhammad Bilal Zubair
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2017.
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