India is responsible for air pollution in Lahore: report

LAHORE,  : An investigation report has revealed that India is responsible for the terrible levels of air pollution in Lahore.

A joint investigation report of Bahauddin Zakariya University and NUST University has said that the polluted air coming from India formed the toxic smog in Lahore.

The report said the city’s air was not clean for a single day during 2020 therefore the number of asthma and heart patients has increased.

Pakistan has taken up the matter with India but did not get a response and without some intervention from across the border, the problem cannot be tackled.

The report suggested that the SAARC conference could work on air pollution in Asia.

Lahore has been battling the worst air pollution for four years in the winter. In 2021, the city ranked 1 globally for the most polluted city. The AQI crossed 700 which is most hazardous.

The last time smog levels in Lahore sky-rocketed was in the winter of 2016-2017. A New York Times report says that dangerous particles in the air, called PM2.5, reached 1,077 microgrammes per cubic meter. This is 30 times more than what is considered the safe limit. Experts said the pollution had reached a “crisis point”.

Smog is formed by a mixture of pollutants and water vapor in the atmosphere. It can cause health problems such as asthma, flu, coughing, allergies, bronchial infections, and heart problems.

Prolonged exposure to environmental pollution also results in shortened life expectancy. These risks may be reduced by wearing masks, managing gaseous vehicular emissions, using eco-friendly products, and reusing and recycling.