ISLAMABAD: Latest data compiled by IQAir, published in the 2019 World Air Quality Report and the most polluted cities rankings, show that Pakistan is the second most polluted country in South Asia, after India.
In South Asia, Indian and Pakistani cities again dominated the world’s most polluted cities for particulate pollution (PM2.5) in 2019.
“Twenty-one out of the top 30 most polluted cities are located in India,” IQAir said on its website. “Five of the top 30 most polluted cities are located in Pakistan.”
“While the new coronavirus is dominating international headlines, a silent killer is contributing to nearly 7 million more deaths a year: air pollution,” IQAir CEO Frank Hammes said. “Through compiling and visualizing data from thousands of air quality monitoring stations, the 2019 World Air Quality Report gives new context to the world’s leading environmental health threat.”
Chinese cities achieved a 9% average decrease in PM2.5 levels in 2019, after a 12% decrease in 2018. Still, 98% of cities exceeded WHO guidelines and 53% of cities exceed China’s less stringent national targets, IQAir said. In the last decade Beijing has more than halved its annual PM2.5 levels and this year dropped out of the ranking’s top 200 most polluted cities.
South Korea was the most polluted country for PM2.5 among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries during 2019. Air quality levels in key cities have remained relatively stagnant over recent years.
While cities in India, on average, exceed the WHO target for annual PM2.5 exposure by 500%, IQAir said, national air pollution decreased by 20% from 2018 to 2019, with 98% of cities experiencing improvements.
“These improvements are believed to be largely a result of economic slow-down,” IQAir said.
In Southeast Asia, in a historic shift reflecting the region’s rapid industrialization, urban hubs Jakarta and Hanoi overtook Beijing for the first time, among the world’s most PM2.5 polluted capital cities.
Pakistan second most polluted country in South Asia after India
https://arab.news/cjy4t
Pakistan second most polluted country in South Asia after India
- IQAir says 21 out of the top 30 most polluted cities are located in India
- Five of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world are located in Pakistan
US freezes visa processing for 75 countries, media reports Pakistan included
- State Department announces indefinite pause on immigrant visas starting Jan 21
- Move underscores Trump’s hard-line immigration push despite close Pakistan-US ties
ISLAMABAD: The United States will pause immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting Jan. 21, the State Department said on Wednesday, with Fox News and other media outlets reporting that Pakistan is among the countries affected by the indefinite suspension.
The move comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a broad immigration crackdown, with Pakistan included among the affected countries despite strong ongoing diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington on economic cooperation, regional diplomacy and security matters.
Fox News, citing an internal State Department memo, said US embassies had been instructed to refuse immigrant visas under existing law while Washington reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The report said the pause would apply indefinitely and covers countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the Department of State said in a post on X.
According to Fox News and Pakistan news outlets like Dawn, the list of affected countries includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil and Thailand, among others.
“The suspension could delay travel, study, and work plans for thousands of Pakistanis who annually seek US visas. Pakistani consulates in the US are expected to provide guidance to affected applicants in the coming days,” Dawn reported.
A State Department spokesman declined comment when Arab News reached out via email to confirm if Pakistan was on the list.
The Department has not publicly released the full list of countries or clarified which visa categories would be affected, nor has it provided a timeline for when processing could resume.
Trump has made immigration enforcement a central pillar of his agenda since returning to office last year, reviving and expanding the use of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law to restrict entry by migrants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term as president, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in US courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court. That policy was later rescinded under the President Joe Biden administration.
The latest visa freeze marks a renewed hardening of US immigration policy, raising uncertainty for migrants from affected countries as Washington reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The freeze on visas comes amid an intensifying crackdown on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. In Minneapolis last week, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation, an incident that has drawn nationwide protests and scrutiny of ICE tactics. Family members and local officials have challenged the federal account of the shooting, even as Department of Homeland Security officials defended the agent’s actions. The case has prompted resignations by federal prosecutors and heightened debate over the conduct of immigration enforcement under the current administration.
