ISLAMABAD: Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province, was ranked as the most polluted city in the world again on Tuesday as authorities grapple with toxic smog.
Dense, toxic smog has become a recurrent public health emergency in Pakistan’s second-largest city and cultural capital. Smog in the recent past has led to lockdowns and school closures in Punjab while residents have reported impaired visibility and respiratory difficulties due to the pollution.
Lahore recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 394, categorized as “hazardous” at 9:40 am local time on Tuesday, according to Swiss air monitoring agency IQAir. The eastern city also recorded a PM2.5 of 272 µg/m³. The PM2.5 refers to floating particulate matter in the air measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less that can be absorbed into the bloodstream upon inhalation.
“PM2.5 concentration is currently 54.4 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value,” IQAir said on its website regarding air pollution in Lahore.
Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, also the country’s industrial hub, recorded an AQI of 164 at the same time to rank at number four on the list of top polluted cities worldwide. Karachi’s air was categorized as “unhealthy” by the Swiss monitoring agency.
Smog season begins in late October and peaks from November to January, lasting through February. It is spurred on by crop burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution every winter season in Punjab’s plane areas.
Punjab authorities have attempted to mitigate the effects of smog. Last month, Punjab conducted its first anti-smog gun operation, which helped lower the city’s unhealthy air quality levels. Anti-smog trucks sprayed fine water mist across the city to help settle dust and pollutants.
Civic authorities are also promoting large-scale tree planting as a mitigation strategy, Raja Mansoor Ahmed, director general of the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) in Lahore, told Reuters.
Outlining ongoing efforts, he said under the Lungs of Lahore project, the government has planted around 350,000 trees so far. He said this year, Punjab added 150,000 trees along the city’s Ring Road project.
“We’re launching the Ring Forestation of Lahore project, aiming to cover 113 kilometers around the city with 2.1 million trees,” Ahmed said.
He confirmed that the “project is approved, and we’ll commence work once funds are released,” positioning it as a long-term measure to combat the city’s severe environmental degradation.
