EDITORIAL: Lahore, once again, has started to earn the unsavoury distinction of being the world’s most polluted city even though the winter is yet to set in when particulate matter and fossil fuel pollutants combined with fog get trapped in the lower atmosphere turning into smog.
The healthy range of air quality value is 50, moderate up to 100, and hazardous beyond 150 levels. On Sunday, air pollution in Lahore hovered between 510 and 376 – followed by New Delhi at 333.
Smog not only causes eye irritation to commuters and exacerbates asthma but also has life threatening affect on lung and heart functions.
It is said to adversely impact crop yields as well. High air pollution in urban centres is a year round phenomenon yet it gets attention only when it becomes visible in the form of smog.
Early in October, the interim provincial government announced that all schools would remain closed on Wednesdays, though it later changed that option deciding instead to evaluate the situation at weekly meetings.
The main culprits contributing to smog are rice stubble burning by farmers, smoke emitting vehicles, pyrolysis plants — using tyres, rubber and oil sludge in furnaces — and brick kilns. During the recent years, despite a declared resolve to plug these sources of trouble successive provincial governments haven’t had much to show for their efforts.
It has been a while since a previous government ordered all brick kilns to either adopt the zigzag technology or stay shut during winter months, but to little effect. The Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) has now launched a fresh crackdown on pyrolysis plants and brick kilns, claiming that out of 233 brick kilns inspected in Lahore and 12,056 in other cities of the province have been issued notices for different violations whilst some 1,124 kilns were sealed for failure to use zigzag method of firing bricks to reduce emissions. And on its part, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has started spraying water on all major roads with ‘mist queen’ machines and water tankers. This should help control the particulate matter.
However, periodic clampdowns on major polluters will not make the problem go away. The EPD has to ask itself why is it that some unscrupulous elements continue to burn tyres and other such materials in spite of a prohibition.
Also, why so many brick kilns have remained operational without installing zigzag technology? Where have its inspectors been all this time? Those authorised to check smoke-emitting vehicles have not done their duty, either. An important source of pollution is also the supply of substandard fuel for vehicular traffic.
It needs to be recalled that when a couple of years ago the then provincial minister for environment had directed the people to use only Euro-5 fuel, it turned out that in the largest population province’s capital city there were only two petrol pumps that offered Euro-5 compliant fuel.
Unfortunately, most of the refineries have refused to upgrade their products. Smog will remain a public health hazard in Lahore as well as some other areas of Punjab unless and until the authorities concerned take comprehensive and sustained measures to combat air pollution.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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