Salam - Lahore named world’s most polluted city as heavy smog covers the city
Assalamu alaikum - Lahore was reported as the world’s most polluted city on Sunday by Swiss monitoring group IQAir, as thick smog settled over Pakistan’s second-largest city.
IQAir recorded Lahore’s air quality index at 237 at noon local time (0700 GMT), marked ‘very unhealthy’, well above the ‘good’ range of 0–50.
Even with those conditions, people still met for Sunday morning cricket.
“We come to the ground for fresh air,” said local resident Mohammad Zubair. “If we have to wear masks here too, where will fresh air come from?”
The Punjab government has tried measures like deploying anti-smog guns that spray water to reduce pollution, but these give only temporary relief.
Plain areas of Punjab, whose capital is Lahore, often face thick smog each winter because cold, heavy air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from crop burning.
Residents are calling for stronger government action, such as free public transport to reduce the number of bikes on the roads, and they complain that anti-smog efforts are not applied evenly across the city.
“Government is spraying [mist through anti-smog guns] but that is happening in posh areas. Here in inner Lahore, there are no anti-smog guns, nothing has been done,” said Kashif Butt.
May Allah make it easy for the people affected and grant wisdom to the authorities to take fair and effective steps.
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