Air quality worsens despite thin traffic

Lahore topped the list of the world's most polluted cities foe the second time in a week despite the provincial government's efforts to curb smog and air pollution.

The provincial capital recorded a 208 Air Quality Index (AQI), while New Delhi ranked second at 164.

The local AQI monitoring of the US embassy also showed the city's score at 252 that is deemed very unhealthy for all age groups.

An alarming fact is that city was declared most polluted on a day when the Punjab government had closed the educational institutions and there was low traffic due to the holidays, raising questions about earlier surveys blaming transport for most of pollution.

Lahore had also recorded the worst air quality in the world on October 12, raising alarm among the environment and other related departments about an early onset of the smog season. The metropolis had topped the list of most polluted cities first the first time in the smog season of last year on in the last week of October.

A senior official of the environment protection and climate change department said, "It is a horrible situation this year as we are again at the top of the list during the past week, while two days ago Lahore was the second most polluted city of the world.

The official said the residents of the city had experienced the worst air quality despite the schools, colleges and universities having remained closed since Friday and thousands of vehicles used for transporting the students had remained off the roads.

He said the traffic flow in other big cities near Lahore had also remained low on Saturday.

The official said the environment department's surveys had shown that transport vehicles contributed 39 per cent of the smog in Lahore but the world AQI ranking had shown that the city had remained most polluted despite the low traffic flow.

A former chairperson of the Punjab University Geography Department, Dr Munawar Sabir, also said the situation was crucial and the government and policymakers should think seriously about it.

"The circumstances indicate that we are moving towards environment destruction. The pollution level means that we are living in the world's most dirty air, which will damage life in the region," he added.

He said a source of hope was that the government and environment ministry were taking comprehensive steps to address the situation.

Provincial Senior Minster Marriyum Aurangzeb has engaged the police, school, traffic and environment protection departments along with the local governments to take measures to curb smog.

She has also launched a crackdown against the factories, brick kilns and farmers causing air pollution.

A crackdown is also under way against the industrial units not installing emission control systems.

The most populated areas of Lahore and other big cities are facing the worst effects of smog.

According to a spokesperson for the environment protection department, the Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA) will organise a cycling event on Sunday morning at the Liberty roundabout to raise awareness about the issue.

The cyclists will cover the distance between the roundabout to Jail Road and back, said Punjab Environment Protection and Climate Change Department Public Relations Officer Sajid Bashir.