Amnesty International issues Pakistan urgent action warning, says every person at risk due to smog

• Air quality in Lahore has deteriorated to 'hazardous' levels in November this year, amnesty said.
• "Govt's inadequate response to the smog in Lahore raises significant human rights concerns," South Asia campaigner at Amnesty International said.

Pakistan has been issued an urgent action warning by Amnesty International for the hazardous smog that has been engulfing Lahore since past few weeks.

The Urgent Action for the people of Lahore warning has been issued by the amnesty in a bid to 'mobilize its supporters around the world to campaign on behalf of the entire population due to the hazardous smog engulfing Pakistan’s second largest city'.

"The air in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province is so toxic that people’s health and lives are in grave danger. Schools have been forced to shut down, respiratory illnesses are on the rise and people are having trouble breathing," Amnesty said.

Rimmel Mohydin, South Asia campaigner at Amnesty International said that the government’s inadequate response to the smog in Lahore raises significant human rights concerns. "The issue is so serious that we are calling on our members around the world to write to the Pakistani authorities to tell them to stop downplaying the crisis and take urgent action to protect people’s health and lives."

The NGO continued that in November, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lahore has deteriorated to hazardous levels .The AQI in Lahore reached 598 at 12pm on 21 November. Since the beginning of the month, at least seven days have seen air quality reach hazardous levels.

The Punjab government shut schools down on at least three days in November. Mohydin said that people are not aware of how much danger they are in because of the air they breathe. Mohydin said that government should not waste time 'if the expertise is available, if the consequences are dire, if the evidence of the damage is mounting'.

"A good starting point would be to acknowledge the risks of the quality of air and initiate smog protection protocol as recommended by the court-appointed Smog Commission,” Mohydin added.