SMOG levels reached hazardous levels on Friday as Faisalabad and Lahore topped the world’s most polluted cities index, followed by New Delhi. The overall air quality of Lahore was recorded as 321 with a high concentration of PM2.5 of 270 microgrammes per cubic metre, which is the most damaging of the particulate matter in the air and is absorbed directly into the bloodstream and impacts organs. Faisalabad ranked even worse with 440 US air quality index (AQI).
Big cities of the country especially Lahore undoubtedly is passing through a severe environmental crisis. According to environmental experts and an earlier report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the cause of smog remains years-long pollution caused mostly by the transport sector and industries, and not just crop burning. Trans-boundary pollution is also not the main reason as the Met Department has confirmed that Punjab primarily experiences a westerly wave during winter. Lahore was once considered the city of gardens but now it has turned into a city of concrete due to the rapid cutting of trees necessitated by rapid increase in its population. Current predicament warrants urgent action both on the part of federal and provincial governments to mitigate the issue of pollution which poses serious threat to the lives and health of people. Present government really deserve applause for initiating a mega tree plantation campaign in the entire country under which it envisages to plant ten billion trees in five years. Nonetheless, it will have to take some extra steps to improve the quality of air. Firstly, it should be made binding on the industries to install proper emission control system – the dry scrubbers etc and strict action should be taken against those failing to do so. The brick kilns should be converted into the environment friendly zig zag technology. Help in this regard can be sought from friendly countries. Solid waste management practices should also be improved and ban should be imposed on open burning of solid waste. Similarly, the Agriculture Department should take measures to control stubble burning. Most importantly, there is a need to create awareness amongst masses as to how they can contribute positively to address the situation. During the lockdown, a significant improvement was seen in the air quality due to less vehicular activity on the road. Since Lahore has a well integrated transport system, the people should prefer using the public transport instead of their personal vehicles. Similarly by providing a better transport system in other big cities such as Faisalabad, we can significantly reduce the pollution levels.
