EVs can help PM2.5 effects in Pakistan: Study

• “The reduction in PM2.5 is generating UFPs as heavy air pollutants like PM2.5 used to absorb these extremely minute particles that in its absence proliferate into the air,” the report said.
• UFPs were more hazardous in nature as compared to PM2.5 as a developing research on air pollution induced health risks linked these air pollutants to health concerns including birth defects.
• As per the EV- Policy approved by the government two-wheeler and three-wheeler electric automobiles would be launched in the first phase due to its increased market demand.

ISLAMABAD: A recent study by US-China team of scientists has revealed that efforts to decrease particulate matter of 2.5 microns size (PM2.5) are unwittingly producing more harmful pollutants called Ultrafine Particles (UFPs) where electric vehicles (EVs) can help reduce the risk as both the pollutants were released from vehicular combustion.

According to a recent report published on the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) website titled “Remarkable nucleation and growth of ultrafine particles from vehicular exhaust”, the recent study had made a detailed analysis of particle creation in different environments of the urban areas.

Almost, many of the urban cities around the world were facing the crisis of air pollution or bad, unhealthy air quality due to increased pollutant ratio and exceeding ratio of health hazardous air toxins mainly due to rising vehicular emissions.

The UFPs were more miniscule in size as they were recorded less than 50 nanometers in diameter.

“The reduction in PM2.5 is generating UFPs as heavy air pollutants like PM2.5 used to absorb these extremely minute particles that in its absence proliferate into the air,” the report said.

However, the UFPs were more hazardous in nature as compared to PM2.5 as a developing research on air pollution induced health risks linked these air pollutants to health concerns including birth defects.

Moreover, the team had also found that UFPs were also produced by another pollutant released by automobiles through their combustion emissions known as volatile organic compounds also VOCs (due to their chemical nature these compounds rapidly permeate into the air and react to produce more different compounds or so).

The researchers had also called the cities to cut down their fuel-based number of vehicles as it would simultaneously choke down PM2.5 and VOCs.

It would also help to mitigate the UFPs in the air which were more serious concern than PM2.5 in the atmosphere. Pakistan had recently approved its first electric vehicle or EV Policy that aimed at converting 30 percent of its fuel-based automobiles over EVs.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam had recently inaugurated the first electric-rickshaw manufacturing unit in Lahore.

The ministry of climate change had also made all out preparations to launch 600 electric-rickshaws with swappable batteries in three major cities of Lahore, Sialkot and Peshawar.

As per the EV- Policy approved by the government two-wheeler and three-wheeler electric automobiles would be launched in the first phase due to its increased market demand.

Malik Amin Aslam had expressed that Pakistan wanted to become an exporting hub of EVs in the region as it was an opportunity for it to boost its market potential and reduce the risk of smog and air pollution in the region.