Lahore in Pakistan continued to be the most polluted city in the world, recording an air quality index (AQI) of above 1,000 as of Saturday morning.
According to Swiss air quality rating agency IQAir, the AQI in Lahore surged to 1,067 around 9:30 am.
This comes just days after Delhi was declared to be the world’s most polluted city in the aftermath of Diwali, despite a strict ban on production, storage, and sale of firecrackers in the national Capital. The air quality on Diwali this year was worse compared to the last two years — the 24-hour average AQI was in the ‘very poor’ category at 328, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, The Indian Express quoted. A day after Diwali, the 24-hour average AQI was recorded to be 339.
Efforts on to curb air pollution in Pakistan
For years, the city of Lahore has regularly featured on the list of the world’s most polluted cities.
In Pakistan, the Punjab government imposed a “green lockdown” in designated smog hotspots across Lahore last week, including restrictions on barbeque joints, marriage halls, use of commercial generators and motorcycle-rickshaws, Dawn reported. Within this initiative, besides imposing a ban on all construction activities, the government will also crack down on environmental violations, issue daily e-challans to vehicles emitting excessive smoke and take action against individuals involved in waste burning, according to the report.
To further combat the rising smog levels, Punjab’s senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, speaking in the Punjab Assembly, announced that the government plans to establish a “green ring” around the city using modern technology as part of the Lahore Green Master Plan. It will create a “wall of trees” to reduce carbon emissions and increase oxygen levels, the report stated.
Despite these measures in place, the Pakistan Air Quality Experts’ Group, has continued to criticise them as “insufficient” and “poorly planned.”
