Smog contributing to rising respiratory issues

ISLAMABAD: With smog season prevailing in large parts of the country, a large number of patients are visiting hospitals with complaints of serious respiratory issues, cold, cough and flu problems.

Talking to APP, environmental scientist Dr Imran Khalid said that smog is prevalent in almost every city of the country and all the stakeholders and the public must sit up and take notice of this.

"No doubt, air pollution is a silent killer and it creeps into the human body with unimaginable impacts on the respiratory and nervous system,” he said, adding, “It should be noted that air quality in the federal capital is not moderate or healthy due to decreased temperature and increased density of suspended particles including particulate matter of 2.5 microns."

The scientist who works with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) said that Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad and other cities are in the spotlight for being the most polluted cities because data from these areas is available. However, other cities or rural centres also have polluted air but it requires persistent air quality monitoring to determine the severity of the issue there.

The smog impact can be easily observed with the number of people visiting the hospital for respiratory issues in every district and city.

Dr Khalid added said it was critical to sensitise and educate the public about increasing the risk of air pollution and smog.

"We have to convince them, especially farmers to stop putting the crop stubble or residue on fire, avoid open household garbage burning and every one of the masses contributing to smog,” he said, adding that at the moment the situation appears to be the worst in Lahore, but it will gradually turn into a national issue it is handled in a casual manner.

The Environmental Protection Department of Punjab states that the Air Quality Index (AQI) was 182 (Met Department) and 269 at Wagha where the air quality was noted as satisfactory and moderate respectively.

However, citizens have been advised to wear masks and glasses apart from staying hydrated to avoid serious respiratory and health complications.

An EPA official told APP that other than the trans-boundary pollution from India, there were certain pollution factors at the local level which require serious attention.

The stubble burning in the eastern Punjab of India was not that much in Pakistan as it had been only carried out in certain districts across the province, he said.

"In the Rawalpindi division, there is no issue of crop stubble burning. Rather, the two major factors of pollution are stone crushing units and brick kilns. In Faisalabad, there are 450 textile mills and various other industrial units operating which put pressure on the environment. Similarly, in Sialkot there are a large number of tanneries and sports manufacturing units which increase hazardous emissions contributing to the overall smog impact in the region," he added.

He said open garbage burning, after vehicular emissions and stubble burning, was the major cause of smog in the province.

"A ban has been imposed in Rawalpindi district on burning crop residue, solid municipal waste, and other plastic and leather items in the winter on the directives of the Punjab government,” he said, adding that due to lack of surveillance and proper monitoring mechanisms, it is impossible to charge the true culprit if found burning garbage openly," the EPD official noted.

When contacted, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) spokesperson Dr Khawaja Waseem said that they are receiving around 600-700 patients with respiratory issues, bad throat, asthma and flu were visiting the hospital in the federal capital. "The main reason for increased respiratory disease patients is the weather, air pollution and less rain increasing dust in the air," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2019.