- Multan & Peshawar remain among most polluted cities of country with Islamabad and Haripur also record high AQI levels
LAHORE: Lahore remained the world’s most polluted cities on Sunday as the air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 753, with Multan’s AQI measured as 587 and Peshawar’s 463, besides AQI level in Islamabad and Haripur has also been recorded above 200.
The provincial capital have been blanked in thick smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.
Polluted winds coming from India have been making the situation worst in most parts of Punjab, rendering the efforts to remedy the air pollution ineffective.
The extremely high pollution levels have also been taking its toll the public health and causing numerous disease among the citizens, especially the children and the elderly.
The AQI over the DHA Phase-8 locality of the Punjab capital was recorded at 1391, followed by CERPO office where it stood at 918.
Similarly, it was 826 over Syed Maratab Ali Road, 723 at The Mall, 692 at Ghazi Road Interchange, 635 over the US consulate, and 624 over Askari-10.
It was partly cloudy in the city while the chances of rain were only two per cent. Cool breeze was blowing at the speed of five kilometers per hour, while maximum temperature was expected to touch 29 degrees Celsius later in the day.
The humidity level was recorded at 90 per cent.
Smog situation in other Punjab cities
The situation was no different in other Punjab cities such as Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Narowal and others as smog, coupled with fog reduced visibility considerably, creating a great inconvenience for the masses.
The AQI in Faisalabad stood at 266 while it was 479 at Multan.
The AQI in Gujranwala was recorded at 220, which made it difficult for the people to breathe.
Dense smog was notice in WAPDA Town and Khayali areas of the city in the morning and evening.
Likewise, smog in and around Narowal has not only taken its toll on people’s health, but has also forced traffic to move at a snail’s pace.
Smog has also made the lives of people in Hafizabad miserable as farmers are busy burning the residue of rice crop, while smoke-emitting vehicles are plying on the city roads.
Punjab’s senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that smog has not been a city or province’s problem, “it has become the problem of Pakistan and the region,” minister claimed.
She advised citizens to observe caution and residents of the most polluted cities avoid unnecessarily getting out of their homes.
Punjab government recently announced closure of schools upto higher secondary level in smog hit districts of the province till 17 November.
The decision made as the province grappling with severe air pollution, which have soared to alarming levels, affecting the public health, especially of children.
Lahore has been consistently ranked top among the most polluted cities globally, prompting urgent action from authorities.
Senior provincial minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the air direction from India, has been towards Lahore resulting in increasing smog. “This issue could not be resolved without talking to India.”
“Polluted eastern winds, blowing from India, have direction towards Lahore,” secretary environment protection agency, Secretary Environment Jahangir Anwar said.
“This polluted air has added to smog in Lahore and given extraordinary boost to the AQI reading,” Anwar said.
Talking to earlier, senior environmental protection official said, “We have never reached a level of 1,000.”
Air pollution level in Lahore once soared to more than 80 times over the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization (WHO), AFP said in a report.
Punjab orders air purifiers in malls, plazas
In response to deteriorating air quality across Punjab, the Directorate General of Environment, led by DG Imran Hamid Sheikh, has issued a directive mandating the installation of air purifiers in all shopping malls and commercial plazas across the province.
The notification, aimed at countering the severe smog levels impacting cities such as Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, and Gujranwala, emphasizes the need to provide cleaner air for customers in indoor public spaces.
The directive urges all districts to ensure compliance, particularly in high-traffic commercial areas, to mitigate the effects of smog and improve indoor air quality amid escalating pollution levels.
Smog forces closure of Motorways
The smog also forced closure of three section of the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M-II) for all types of traffic due to fog and smog-triggered reduced visibility.
According to the Motorway and Highway officials, the motorway from Lahore to Kot Momin was closed from 10pm yesterday night, and traffic was halted to ensure safety.
Similarly, the Lahore-Multan Motorway and Motorway M-III, from Lahore to Durdana, were shut down for all vehicles starting from 12:15am Sunday.
The Lahore-Sialkot Motorway was also closed completely from 11:15 pm the previous night due to extremely low visibility.
These closures led to significant delays, with long queues of vehicles forming at the Babu Sabu Interchange as motorists were forced to find alternate routes amid the worsening smog conditions.
Lahore Airport flights delayed
Thick smog significantly affected operations at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, where visibility dropped to just 50 meters, as reported by the Civil Aviation officials.
The low visibility impacted both domestic and international flight operation, leading to numerous flights delays and rescheduling.
Similarly, flights arrival and departure from Lahore faced considerable difficulties due to the dense smog.
For instance, AirSial’s flight PF 733 from Muscat experienced a 3-hour and 40-minute delay, while Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK 172 from Muscat was delayed by 4 hours and 15 minutes.
Additionally, PK 302 from Karachi was delayed by 4 hours, and PK 959 from Lahore to Jeddah by 3 hours and 30 minutes.
11 arrested, 43 penalized for violation of smog SOPs
Furthermore, the Punjab government has intensified action against those causing air pollution and smog in parts of the province.
In this connection, the police registered 43 cases, arrested 11 individuals, and imposed Rs8 lakh fine on 423 individuals during a crackdown on those causing pollution in the last 24 hours.
Additionally, 32 individuals were issued warnings.
According to Punjab police spokesperson, 17 cases of crop residue burning, 336 cases of high-emission vehicles, 13 industrial violations, 23 cases of brick kilns, and 13 other violations were reported, and legal action was taken.
The spokesperson said that during the current year’s anti-smog crackdown, a total of 2,025 individuals were arrested, 2248 cases were registered, and over 49.1 million rupees in fines were imposed on 21,042 individuals, with 1310 warnings issued.
