LAHORE: As the nights are becoming colder, the air pollution has started increasing in the city, which witnessed a dry weather on Sunday while Met office predicted similar weather conditions for the next 24 hours.
The average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded was 160, which was unhealthy while the main pollutant was PM2.5. Data collected from IQAir claimed that PM2.5 concentration was 13.7 times the World Health Organisation annual PM2.5 guideline value.
Environmentalists said emerging of PM2.5 as the main pollutant clearly showed that the departments such as LDA, MCL and others carrying out development projects were not taking anti-smog SOPs.
They urged Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to issue directive for an immediate stop to all infrastructure development activities and construction activities across the province, especially in Lahore and other big cities; otherwise, the situation will continue to worse.
The most polluted city localities included Allama Iqbal Town where the AQI was 196, Syed Maratib Ali Road (AQI 180), Shadman Market (179), Ghazi Road Interchange (177), DHA phase 5 (177), Pine Avenue (177) and Shalimar Link Road (173).
Meanwhile, Punjab’s Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb stated that on the instructions of the CM, nine departments of the Punjab government have launched a grand operation against smog.
She claimed that the continuous efforts of the Punjab government against smog and air pollution and public cooperation have brought the AQI of Lahore under control.
She said environment protection force and the department were mobilised and all squads were in the field. Surveillance of brick kilns was going on through drones and live reports were being issued.
She added that smog guns and air quality monitors were also in the field and it was for the first time in the history of Punjab that timely operation with the help of forecasting of AQI and All-of-Government strategy controlled the AQI level as per the forecast.
A modern meteorological data centre had identified the areas with high pollution levels in advance, she said, adding the meteorological improvement team took action with smog guns in the smog 'hotspots, due to which the AQI remained as per the forecast. She directed the departments to ensure covering of construction material in open areas while the traffic police were directed to impose restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles and trolleys in the city during the day hours.
Senior Minister revealed that Wasa, LDA, PHA, C&W and the administration started spraying whereas the Agriculture Department started a grand operation to control smog by ensuring a ban on burning crop residues across Punjab.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Minister for Housing Bilal Yasin, accompanied by DG Wasa Punjab Tayyab Fareed and MD Wasa Gufran Ahmed visited several city areas and reviewed ongoing anti-smog operations.
Minister Bilal Yasin visited Ghous-ul-Azam Road, Main Boulevard Faisal Town, and various sites at Khayaban-e-Firdousi, Johar Town.
He inspected Wasa Lahore’s water sprinkling and cleaning operations.
During the briefing, Wasa MD said that Lahore was carrying out daily sprinkling operations on multiple roads to significantly reduce the effects of smog.
He added that Wasa Lahore was fully utilising all available resources to eliminate smog and ensure a clean environment for citizens.
The minister instructed that regular water sprinkling should be ensured at all development project sites. He also directed that special teams be deployed for the immediate clearance of construction debris, dust, and dirt. The minister emphasised accelerating cleaning operations in urban areas while maintaining coordination between Wasa, LWMC, and Traffic Police.
Bilal Yasin stressed that citizens should also be engaged in anti-smog efforts through a public awareness campaign. During the visit, the minister also inspected the trunk sewerage system project at Khayaban-e-Firdousi, Johar Town. He added that, on the directions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, all departments are working under a joint strategy to make Lahore a smog-free city.
Furthermore, the Met office said that continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country while a shallow westerly trough was likely to affect extreme north of the country.
They predicted that dry weather was expected over most parts of the country while cold in hilly areas during morning and night hours. However light rain at isolated places in Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sunday’s maximum temperature was recorded at Mithi, Turbat and Chhor where mercury reached 39°C while in Lahore it was 32°C.
