LAHORE: With the launch of the ‘fifth season’ of gauze, the parochial capital of Lahore was spotted as the most weakened megacity in the world with dangerous situations of air quality when this report was filed at 8 pm on Tuesday.
Once nominated for the megacity of auditoriums, the air quality position of Lahore is continuously falling into dangerous situations. On Monday, the worst air quality was noted in the atomic hours when the AQI US was 438, according to theiqair.com, which monitors the air quality across the world. At the time of filing this report, the air quality indicator of Lahore was dangerous 303. It should be noted that the air is safe to breathe in only if the AQI US is over 50.
Individual areas of Lahore fared worse, with air quality near the Lahore Grammar School was 401 on the AQI US in real-time(8 pm) and Pakistan Engineering Services( Private) 366, CERP office 349, Syed Maratab Ali Road 340, DHA Phase- II 329 and Chatha Park 328.
The Environment Protection Department(EPD) own data, which participated online, showed the worse air quality in Lahore at 309.
According toiqair.com, “air pollution in Lahore is caused by a combination of vehicle and artificial emigrations, the bank from slipup kilns, the burning of crop residue, general waste, and dust from construction spots. Other factors of air pollution include large-scale losses of trees to make new roads and structures. Winter air pollution is worse due to temperature inversion, which results in a subcaste of warm air that’s averted from rising trapping air adulterants.”
While the situation of business traffic and the number of vehicles on the roads of Lahore is an open secret, the nonstop construction at real estate systems within Lahore as well as around it is another issue. The development systems within the megacity which substantially involve construction also contribute to the problem.
In the AQI ranking of world metropolises, Lahore(in real-time) was followed by Delhi, Nur Sultan( Kazakhstan), Dubai, and Dhaka.
In 2018, Lahore was ranked 10 in IQAir AirVisual’s 2018 World Air Quality Report.
Overall, Pakistan’s air pollution caused the country to be ranked as the alternate most weakened in the world with a periodic PM 2.5 normal of 74.3 µg/ m ³.
The Punjab government directed the executive registers concerned, officers, and deputy officers(DCs) to make sweats to alleviate the health hazard in the form of worst air quality across the fiefdom.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal presided over a meeting on gauze control at the Civil Secretariat on Tuesday. The executive registers of colorful departments, including terrain protection, original government, diligence, husbandry, transport, and health, the deputy manager of Lahore, and the officers concerned attended the meeting. The DCs of Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur, Okara, Sahiwal, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Narowal, and Faisalabad shared through a videotape link.
The principal clerk directed all the departments to beef up a sweat to gauze control and hold exemplary sessions with civil society.
The meeting was briefed that the bank from burning crop remainders across the border was affecting the air quality of Lahore.
Mr. Sumbal claimed that the gauze situation was comparatively better than last time but a lot of work demanded to be done to control environmental pollution.
He also issued orders to the Environment Protection Department(EPD) to hold exemplary sessions with all the stakeholders, including civil society. He said that the suggestions of the civil society would prove helpful in precluding gauze. The meeting also decided to carry out examinations of all the government vehicles.
Briefing the meeting, the EPD clerk said that in October, the authorities sealed 1,058 artificial units causing environmental pollution, registered 696 cases, and assessed forfeitures of further than Rs24m on those causing pollution. The examination brigades sealed 583 artificial units, lodged FIRs, and assessed forfeitures of over Rs34m in Lahore. He said that during the last two weeks 4,60,000 examinations were conducted and,168 bank-emitting vehicles were impounded. Likewise, 20 cases were registered over burning scrap during the last month.
The clerk said that due to the direction of the wind, the bank from burning crop remainders across the border is affecting Lahore.
