LAHORE – The light and scattered rain of the new year has brought much-needed relief to worsening air quality in Lahore.
The Meteorological Department predicted the similar weather conditions to persist over the next 24 hours.
The rain, which began early Sunday morning, continued intermittently across various parts of the city until the evening. According to meteorological officials, a frontal weather system is affecting northern regions of the country and is expected to remain active until Monday.
Cloudy skies with rain and snowfall have been predicted for Kashmir, Murree, Galliyat, Gilgit-Baltistan, and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Moderate to dense fog is likely to persist in the plains of Punjab and upper Sindh during the early morning and nighttime hours.
Other cities also reported rainfall, while snowfall occurred in Chitral, Kalam, Drosh, and Malam Jabba. The lowest temperature on Sunday was recorded in Ziarat at -11°C. Lahore’s temperature ranged from a minimum of 7.3°C to a maximum of 17.5°C.
After the rain, Lahore’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) improved but remained at an unhealthy level of 169. PM2.5 levels were recorded at 16.4 times higher than the WHO guidelines. The most polluted areas included the US Consulate (573 AQI), Ada Plot on Raiwind Road (394 AQI), and Johar Town (285 AQI).
In Karachi, the Meteorological Department predicted cold and dry weather across most districts of Sindh over the next 24 hours. The moderate to dense fog patches were forecast in areas including Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Shikarpur, Kashmore, Khairpur, and Mohenjo-daro.
The Department of Environmental Protection earlier claimed to have been combating smog and air pollution over the past 10 months. Strict actions are being taken against violators of environmental laws.
The department inspected 11,000 brick kilns across Punjab, issued 11,153 notices, demolished 1,191 kilns, sealed 1,335 and registered 1,832 cases.
Besides it, 484 factories were sealed for non-compliance with environmental regulations, 174 cases were filed and fines amounting to Rs46 million were imposed.
The authorities inspected 4, 588 sites, issues 688 notices and sealed 46 sites in a bid to curb fugitive dust.
