Pakistan's Lahore becomes world's most polluted city, Karachi ranked third
Islamabad, Oct 28
Lahore in Pakistan continues to remain the world's most polluted city as smog blanketed the region on Tuesday and the city's Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 329 at around 9 am (local time) as per Swiss air quality monitor IQAir.
The AQI of Lahore stood at 424 earlier in the morning, with the level of deadly particulate matter (PM2.5) pollutants, the fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health, reaching 287, leading Pakistani daily The News International reported.
Along with Lahore, Pakistan's Karachi also featured in the top 10 most polluted cities globally. It stood at the third spot in the list with an AQI recorded at 174.
Health experts have warned that prolonged exposure to such high pollution levels can result in people facing severe health issues, including heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and chronic respiratory illnesses, The News International reported.
The severe air quality in Lahore was not uniform across the city with several areas crossing into the 'hazardous' threshold. The air quality at the City School, Allama Iqbal Town, recorded an AQI of 505, a level considered an emergency health warning. Fauji Fertilizer Pakistan and The City School Shalimar Campus recorded AQIs of 525 and 366, respectively, indicating that millions of people living in these areas were breathing air of life-threatening quality, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
Meanwhile, the smog emergency has placed Punjab province region on high alert. Faisalabad and Multan cities of Punjab recorded AQI of 439 and 438 respectively at different times of the day. Other major urban centres like Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and Sialkot featured predominantly on the list, indicating public health crisis in Punjab.
The authorities have urged the residents, particularly children, elderly and those facing respiratory conditions to avoid outdoor activities, as per the Dawn report. Continuous smog, vehicle emissions, industrial pollution and agricultural burning have become an annual catastrophe for Lahore.
— IANS
Reader Comments
AQI of 525 is absolutely terrifying! That's like breathing poison. Our hearts go out to the ordinary citizens suffering there. No one deserves to live in such conditions, regardless of which country they're in.
While this is alarming, I hope our government is taking notes. We have our own pollution battles in North India. Maybe we can share our experiences and solutions with our neighbors? Environmental issues need regional cooperation.
As someone who lived in Lahore for 2 years, this breaks my heart. The city has such beautiful heritage and wonderful people. The authorities need to take immediate action - this is a public health emergency!
The pattern is similar to what we see in Delhi-NCR - stubble burning, vehicle emissions, industrial pollution. South Asian countries need to collaborate on clean air initiatives. This affects everyone's health and economy.
While I sympathize with the people affected, I wish our media would show similar concern for pollution in Indian cities. We have several cities that regularly hit hazardous levels too. Let's not be selective in our environmental concerns.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.