Sunday, November 12, 2017

Pakistan gasps for fresh air

It is not only Delhi that is suffering from smog. 

 Two weeks of thick toxic smog has disrupted normal life in parts of Pakistan, with flights cancelled, road accidents surging and nearly 15,000 people being hospitalised in and around Lahore. The thick blanket of grey air and pollutants has enveloped the eastern Pakistani city and several other urban areas for nearly two weeks, bringing visibility to zero most of the day. Meteorologists say the pollution surge was triggered by vehicle exhaust fumes, dust and illegal burning of crops.

More than 15,000 smog-affected patients were admitted to hospitals with acute respiratory infections, allergies and other pollution-related ailments in the Lahore area, said Faisal Zahoor, director general of health for Punjab province.

Levels of Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) have been touching 500mg per cubic meter in the last several days in parts of Pakistan where the normal upper limit is 150mg, said environment ministry spokesman Naseem-ur-Rehman Shah. The particles, if inhaled deep into the lungs, can cause heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer, severe allergies and respiratory diseases.

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