Despite steps being taken by the Punjab government to tackle smog, there is no marked improvement in the air quality of major cities of the province, especially Lahore, where air quality index (AQI) recorded at 477 on Monday, again put the city on top of the world’s most polluted cities.
Lahore was followed by Indian capital New Delhi where the AQI stood at 241, while Tashkent in Uzbekistan emerged as the third most polluted city.
While the air quality in Lahore is toxic, it is not much different in other cities of Punjab, including Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan.
Smog is becoming dense in Qabula near Sahiwal as there is no check on brick kilns operating in the suburbs of the city.
Consequently, pollution is increasing with each passing day and people are falling sick as eye, throat and chest infections are on the rise. Doctors have advised people to take precautionary measures.
They have asked people to wear facemasks and glasses, while people, on the other hand, have demanded the government to take action against the brick kilns owners.
On the other hand, air quality in Karachi is also hazardous for human health as the AQI in the city touched 142 mark on Monday.
Predicting hot weather for the port city, the Met Office said that the maximum temperature in the city would go up to 36 degrees Celsius, while the humidity level in the morning was recorded at 90 per cent. Breeze was blowing from the north-east at a speed of six kilometers per hour.
The weather in Lahore remained dry, and similar conditions are likely to continue on Tuesday.
MET officials said that continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country, while a westerly wave was likely to affect the upper regions from tonight. They predicted cloudy weather accompanied by rain, wind, and thunderstorms, with snowfall over the high mountains in Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeastern Punjab, the Potohar region, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, dry weather was expected to prevail over most central and southern parts of the country.
Separately, Lahore’s traffic police have ramped up efforts to combat the worsening smog in the city, with special teams deployed at key entry and exit points. According to Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Dr. Athar Waheed, vehicles without fitness certificates are now prohibited from entering the city, as part of measures to reduce pollution levels.
In October alone, action was taken against 24,591 vehicles lacking fitness certificates. Additionally, over 17,000 vehicles emitting excessive smoke and around 8,000 unsafe trolleys carrying dirt or sand were fined. This marks a fourfold increase in enforcement actions compared to the same period last year.
Dr Waheed urged citizens to ensure their vehicles are properly maintained and repaired in order to prevent the spread of smog. He emphasized that the traffic police will continue to tighten their crackdown on vehicles contributing to air pollution in the coming days.
These measures are part of a broader strategy by local authorities to tackle Lahore’s persistent smog issues, which have been exacerbated by vehicle emissions, crop burning, and industrial pollutants.