Pakistan’s Lahore becomes world’s most polluted city, Karachi ranked third

Islamabad: Lahore in Pakistan continues to remain the world’s most polluted city as smog blanketed the region on Tuesday and the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 329 at around 9 am (local time) as per Swiss air quality monitor IQAir.

The AQI of Lahore stood at 424 earlier in the morning, with the level of deadly particulate matter (PM2.5) pollutants, the fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health, reaching 287, leading Pakistani daily The News International reported.

Along with Lahore, Pakistan’s Karachi also featured in the top 10 most polluted cities globally. It stood at the third spot in the list with an AQI recorded at 174.

Health experts have warned that prolonged exposure to such high pollution levels can result in people facing severe health issues, including heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and chronic respiratory illnesses, The News International reported.

The severe air quality in Lahore was not uniform across the city with several areas crossing into the ‘hazardous’ threshold. The air quality at the City School, Allama Iqbal Town, recorded an AQI of 505, a level considered an emergency health warning. Fauji Fertilizer Pakistan and The City School Shalimar Campus recorded AQIs of 525 and 366, respectively, indicating that millions of people living in these areas were breathing air of life-threatening quality, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

Meanwhile, the smog emergency has placed Punjab province region on high alert. Faisalabad and Multan cities of Punjab recorded AQI of 439 and 438 respectively at different times of the day. Other major urban centres like Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and Sialkot featured predominantly on the list, indicating public health crisis in Punjab.

The authorities have urged the residents, particularly children, elderly and those facing respiratory conditions to avoid outdoor activities, as per the Dawn report. Continuous smog, vehicle emissions, industrial pollution and agricultural burning have become an annual catastrophe for Lahore.

IANS