LAHORE: A thick cloud of smog that enveloped Lahore on Wednesday earned it the ignominious title of the world’s most polluted city, according to a Swiss air quality monitoring company.
Platform IQAir said the nation’s cultural capital now stands at the top of its polluted cities ranking — with an air quality index of 203 on the US AQI scale, versus runner-up Dehli, India, with 183.
That standing was at 2:49 pm, the two cities had traded places at least once over the course of the morning.
Increasing smog and particle-laden air has sickened thousands of people with respiratory and other illnesses, forcing many to stay at home on particularly dirty days like Wednesday.
Dhaka, Bangladesh came in third, with an index of 169, and Kolkata, India at fourth, with a reading of 168. Lahore stood at the third place a day earlier.
Increasing air pollution and smog have forced authorities to order a partial closure of schools in Lahore, once known as the city of gardens. Authorities said they closed some factories and some were fined for not using technology that helps in controlling pollution.
Doctors are advising people to wear face masks to avoid respiratory-related diseases.
Rafeh Alam, an environmental expert who has been campaigning to create awareness among people about the dangers of increasing pollution, said many people, including women and children, have been exposed to toxic air, which causes several diseases. He urged the government to take measures to reduce air pollution.
Adding to vehicle and industry pollution is the popular practice among poor farmers of setting fire to remnants of the previous season’s crop before preparing land for the next planting.
Winds worsen the pollution by further spreading smog across the region.
