Weather Alert: Dense Smog in Lahore

Residents of Lahore woke up to a thick cover of smog on Wednesday dated 2nd November, 2016 that diminished visibility for travelers and prompted several complaints of breathing problems and mental anguish. It resembles Lahore is turned into a gas chamber, a harmful cloud of chemicals and smoke enveloping the great city. Dangerous gasses such as Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulphur Dioxide also shot up. The whole populace of Lahore is at risk of getting diseases due to ever deteriorating ambient air quality. The dense smog in Lahore today is legitimately terrifying.

Normally Punjab experiences such fog, mixed with pollutants, in December,” says chief meteorologist of the Pakistan Meteorological Department. “It is unusual for it to be this foggy this early. But it also hasn’t rained in Lahore since October.” The increase in air pollutants can be attributed to an uptick in motor vehicle pollution in the city, an accumulation of dust from ongoing construction projects, and changes in climate.

As per the atmosphere of Lahore and Punjab in general, it is not Fog, its Smog, very thick toxic blanket of pollutants which is threatening health hazard. Visibility on open areas and motorway have decreased to 20-25m. This condition created serious breathing ailments and eye infection. In countries elsewhere this climatic condition call for emergency closing down of schools, public places so people could come I contact of this danger as less as possible. As the time goes the smog has got more dense and people complain of feeling it inside their homes, burning eyes and heavy breathing.

As per the experts, the situation is worse in Lahore where pollution level is much higher than any estimate due to excessive emissions from moving and stationary sources, continuing demolition and construction activity and fast disappearance of trees for development purposes.

In a recently released report, World Health Organization (WHO) exposed that 92% of the world population lives in places where air quality levels surpass danger level, posing serious health risks.

Some measures and solutions for the people that must be taken to avoid the effect this Smog:

• Minimize going out for long and must wear masks
• Eye wash should be used frequently to clear eyes
• Vacuum cleaning and sprinkling of water on all roads.
• Focus a team on decreasing the dust from construction sites, outside houses, parks and generator gasses.
• A lot of air and truck sprinkling of water everywhere.
• Controlled burning at the landfill sites using piping and venting to reduce uncontrolled toxic emissions at source
• Obtain methane gas and covering of landfills with inert material and alum sludge from water treatment plants
• The vacuum cleaning of roads. Jet pressure pump technique should be used for water sprinkling on footpath edges, road bumps and central verges. This can control dust particles.
• Install new mist fountains and air purifiers like China did important traffic intersections and busy shopping mall areas.
• The government should make people aware about dust pollution. And appeal the Pakistanis to inform for the violations of rules.