AIR POLLUTION'S AIM : MASTER GLOBAL ESSAY

 

LAHORE regularly tops the list of the world's most polluted cities, according to IQAir, which last year ranked Pakistan among the four countries with the worst air quality.

The World Bank has said that air pollution shorts the average life expectancy of Pakistans by 4.3 years and leads to losses equivalent to about 6.5 percent of the economy.

Impounding polluting vehicles. Tearing down kilns. Banning rickshaws. Closing some barbecue restaurants.

These are some of the measures official's in Pakistan's largest province, Punjab, have put in place as record breaking air pollution chokes the region, hospitalizing hundreds and forcing students and workers to stay home.

Lahore, the capital of Punjab and Pakistan's second-largest city, on Nov 3 had its worst air quality ever recorded, prompting the government to shut all primary schools. In the days since, the city has been cloaked in toxic, eye-irritating smog.

On Thursday, Lahore had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.

'' The air feels thick, and it's exhausting just to breathe,'' said Safdar Masih,42, a gardener in Lahore. Even with windows and doors shut, the smog had seeped into homes, he said.

On Wednesday last, the authorities announced new public health measures, expanding the school closures to include all secondary schools until Nov 17, and advising residents to wear masks in public spaces.

The directives will affect more than 70 million people in the province. In Lahore, home to 13 million people, the authorities have ordered half of all workers to stay at home.

'' This is a critical situation,'' Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Punjab Province, said at a news conference on Wednesday. She warned that the poor air quality could linger for another 10 days.

On Nov 3, the city's Air Quality Index surpassed  1,000 for the first time since IQAir began keeping records. Anything above 201 on the index is considered a hazardous situation that can cause severe eye and throat irritation and serious heart and lung conditions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers anything beyond 500 as off the charts.

On last Wednesday morning, Lahore had a reading of 1,165.

Northern India is also experiencing high levels of air pollution. New Delhi, the Indian capital, had the second highest air pollution among world cities last Thursday, according to IQAir.

'' Smog has made our lives miserable, '' said Muhammad Kafil, a rickshaw driver who earns the equivalent of $4 a day. 

'' Children and the elderly at home are sick, struggling to breathe, and now the government has imposed fines on rickshaw drivers, as if we are the only cause of the smog. In these conditions, what is a poor man supposed to do?''

The World Students Society thanks Yan Zhuang and Zia ur Rehman.