THE very fact that Pakistan has slipped from the third to the second position on the list of the most polluted countries of the globe is a clear indication that we have been paying only lip-service to the cause of environmental pollution. According to IQAir’s annual World Air Quality Report 2023 released on Tuesday, annual average particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration was 14 times above WHO guidelines at 73.7 g/m³ nationwide, which amounts to a loss in life expectancy of 4.4 years across Pakistan.
The top worst polluted cities in Pakistan are Lahore (99.5), Faisalabad (88.2), Peshawar (76.5), Rawalpindi (59.5), Karachi (56.4) and Islamabad (42.4). It is a matter of shame that Islamabad has gone up from 17th place to 9th in the list of most polluted capitals in the world. This makes mockery of our claims about the priority being assigned to environmental issues as managing pollution in a small city like Islamabad should not be a problem for the Government and the resourceful Capital Development Authority (CDA) as its surroundings and weather conditions are helpful for the purpose. Causes of environmental pollution are known and most of them can be addressed given sustained efforts and a higher level of commitment. Urban development is leading to loss of green areas and we are allowing free for all housing societies to play havoc with the environment without fulfilling their responsibility towards tree plantation/development of green areas. Similarly, despite the alarming level of fog, we have not been able to implement the ban on crop burning while action is not taken against smoke emitting vehicles. Factories releasing toxic fumes are a major source of air contamination and power plants using fossil fuels emit large amounts of greenhouse gases. Waste burning by individuals and at municipal levels also adds to air pollution and this practice can be stopped through improvement in waste disposal arrangements. We hope that Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz would also focus on measures to address the causes of environmental and other pollution as part of her vision for a clean Punjab and other CMs would also devise plans for the purpose.
