LAHORE:Once again the city’s atmosphere turned hazardous as the average AQI reached 263 whereas at different times of the day it touched 490 at different places here on Thursday.
The day was hazy and citizens complained about irritation in eyes, cough and throat related problems while a large number of parents appealed to the chief minister to immediately announce winter holidays in schools as the current weather conditions were not suitable for children.
Data collected from IQAir revealed that with the rise in the AQI, the provincial metropolis also ranked on top of the world’s top 10 most polluted cities. They said the PM2.5 concentration was 36.4 times the World Health Organisation annual PM2.5 guideline value. The most polluted city areas included Liberty Market where average was 378, Johar Town 290, Allama Iqbal Town 276, Phase 5, DHA 266, Barki Road 263, Bedian Road 245, Civil Secretariat 217 and Askari-X 194.
EPD officials said large-scale operations were conducted at fast food points and nine BBQ units operating without suction hoods were sealed. They said EPA teams held crackdown and strict action was taken against industrial units emitting smoke.
They claimed that many construction sites were sealed and fines were imposed for non-compliance of dust control SOPs. They added that anti-smog squad monitoring intensified across the City and 24/7 checking of industrial units was being done. They claimed that emergency plan was activated to improve air quality in Lahore.
On the other hand, doctors warned the citizens especially children and octogenarian to stay indoor as the hazardous AQI may result into serious health issues, including heart attack, asthmatic problems and etc. They said citizens should close the windows of their houses and uses air purifiers.
Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb advised the public to use face masks and people with sensitive nature should take care of themselves and limit their outdoor activities.
Meanwhile, Met officials said continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country. A shallow westerly wave was likely to approach western parts of the country on Friday (today). They predicted that cold and partly cloudy weather was expected over most parts of the country while very cold in hilly areas during morning/night hours. Smog (while, moderate to dense fog in patches during morning and night) was likely to persist over plain areas of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh.
