Lahore ranked most polluted city in the world

Dense fog hits road, air traffic across Punjab

LAHORE:

Once again, the provincial capital has been ranked as the most atmospherically-polluted city of the world as the US Air Quality Index (AQI) highlighted a dismal score of hovering between 387 to 470 on Friday.

The heavy fog has blanketed major cities of Punjab affecting road and air traffic as motorways was closed and several flights cancelled due to low visibility level.

The weather turned colder and intense fog was witnessed in the morning hours and at night.

Punjab’s environmental problems have many dimensions with the government claiming that steps have been taken to eradicate smog.

As educational institutions have opened after the lockdown, the vehicular traffic congestion on roads has been increased once again, thus increasing the smog.

The AQI was recorded 470 in Lahore which put the city on the top most polluted cities in the world, followed by Dhaka and New Delhi. Meanwhile, the authorities claimed that the brick kilns have been shut down and their technology has been changed due to which pollution has been reduced.

According to the Meteorological Department, fog has returned to the plains of Punjab due to low pressure in the air and change in weather and also due to the closure of the westerly winds. This will continue for the next two to three days.

Fog is also seen in other areas of Punjab due to which other highways including motor- ways have to be closed these days. Besides, flights have also been affected due to fog at Lahore Airport.

Chief Meteorologist Meher Sahibzad Khan said: “No series of rains is seen in the near future as soon as the westerly winds begin to blow and the sun light, the fog will disappear due to this, the intensity of heat will also increase.”

Khan maintained that generally in Punjab, apart from winter, air pollution in Pakistan routinely increases during harvest season in India. Apart from Lahore, people in neighbouring cit- ies like Raiwand, Multan, Gujranwala, Muridke, Sahiwal, Okara and Faislabad are also facing severe issues due to the smog. The effects of such fog are also seen when the weather changes because the earth is cold, but because of the temperature, its effects are visible and the plains become foggy.

“The fog will disappear in next one to two days and the weather will be pleasant again. The smog is causing damage because of the pollution of traffic and factories, its increasing trend which causes problems like respiratory and eye diseases.

Due to lack of rains, wheat and gram crops are affected but due to fog, there is some benefit from adequate moisture. With the onset of winds, the fog would be eliminated,” he added. On the other hand, due to heavy fog, motorways have to close their various routes from nine to ten o'clock. Even at Lahore airport, flights have to be delayed due to fog as smog causes slipperiness on the runway. Therefore, caution is exercised.

Services Hospital Senior Registrar Dr Atif Chaudhry said that smog was harful for people suffering from respira- tory problems. He said eye in- fections were also on the rise due to fog.