LAHORE: The Air Quality Index (AQI) remained unhealthy in the provincial metropolis on Sunday. AQI calculations of five categories of pollution, including particulate matter, ground level O-zone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide, reached an unhealthy level.
The Air quality index (AQI) rate was recorded between 178 and 200 in the early morning on Sunday, Met Office sources told reporter.
Obviously, the AQI is clearly indicating an alarming level of smog threat continued to loom in the capital of Punjab province. The sources said the air in Lahore was very unhealthy. AQI as high as 151-200 is considered unhealthy, while an AQI rating between 201 and 300 is more harmful and AQI over 300 is dubbed extremely hazardous.
Meanwhile, the lowest temperature in Lahore was recorded at 23 degree centigrade. The smoke produced by burning of crop residues, shoe factories waste, use of unrecommended coal, burning of trash and black oil and tyres is deteriorating the atmosphere.
Environmentalists say that an increased trend in air pollution in winter, change in the wind speed, its direction and sliding minimum temperature, increases air pollution.
The air becomes heavier in the winter as compared to summer, causing poisonous particles including toxic oxides in the atmosphere to move downwards and making the atmosphere polluted, they said, adding, as a result, a thick layer of polluted particles, including large amounts of carbon and smoke, can cover any mega city easily.
Meanwhile, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Captain (retd) Mustansar Feroze has intensified a crackdown on smoky vehicles. In a statement, he said that environmental and air pollution causes viral diseases. Therefore, transport owners should ply their vehicles only after proper repair and checkup. Violators will be taken to task, he warned.
According to an order of the Lahore High Court (LHC), vehicles emitting smoke would be fined Rs2000.
During the current year, 48,331 smoke-emitting vehicles were issued fine tokens, he added.
The CTO Lahore said that an awareness campaign was being conducted in view of possible smog, environmental pollution, adding the campaign would be conducted in collaboration with the bus owners’ union.