Lahore becomes most polluted city of world with 509 AQI

LAHORE: Bad air keeps Lahore placed on top of the most polluted cities of the world with Air Quality Index (AQI) reading 509 on Monday, ARY News reported.

Indian capital city New Delhi ranked second with 221 on the list and Egypt’s Cairo placed third with 201 AQI.

The other world cities with worst air quality included Dhaka with 167 AQI, Shanghai 161 and Kolkata 158 on the air quality index.

According to reports, polluted air blowing from India’s Amritsar and Attari increases AQI level in Lahore.

Officials said that the water being sprinkled with smoke guns in the city to keep the air pollution level down. “The AQI level could improve with increase in the wind speed in city by 11:00 am,” officials said.

Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has urged the farmers to avoid burning twigs of the crop, she also advised citizens to adopt car-pooling for travel.

“The vehicles should not brought to road without fitness certificate,” minister further said.

The air pollution and smog haunts Punjab with the onset of winter. In previous years authorities made desperate efforts to contain smog in cities. The province grappled with severe air pollution, which soared to alarming levels, causing serious public health issues.

For days, Lahore was enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants, caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning as temperatures drop with cooling air.

Air pollution level in Lahore once soared to more than 80 times of the level deemed hygienic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The government closed schools and restricted timing of eateries, other businesses and markets to save general public from the adverse impact of toxic pollution and health problems.