The air quality level has gradually improved in Lahore with significant drop in smog as the city’s air quality recorded 163 on Wednesday.  However, other cities of Punjab facing the menace of air pollution and smog.  According to an international environmental website the level of the particulate matter in Bahawalpur in southern Punjab reached to 600, while Multan’s air quality index recorded 433 and Lodhran’s AQI reading remained 418. 

Health experts have advised citizens to use masks to avoid adverse impact of the air pollution.  Last year air pollution and smog haunted Punjab with the onset of winter. Authorities made desperate efforts to contain smog in cities. The province grappled with severe air pollution, which soared to alarming levels, causing serious public health issues.  For days, Lahore was enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants, caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning as temperatures drop with cooling air. 

Air pollution level in Lahore once soared to more than 80 times of the level deemed hygienic by the World Health Organization (WHO).  The government closed schools and restricted timing of eateries, other businesses and markets to save general public from the adverse impact of toxic pollution and health problems. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)