Smog Alert - Lahore became the most polluted place on Earth yesterday (Pakistan) 2/Nov/2024

As air pollution hits toxic levels, one proposal is to introduce a ‘smog diplomacy’ initiative between Pakistan and India

As the smog descended over Lahore, people began to feel the familiar symptoms. First came the scratchy throat and burning eyes, then the dizziness, tightness in the chest and the dry racking cough.

“It’s become a physical ordeal just to go outdoors,” said Jawaria, 28, a master’s student living in the Pakistani city.

In recent days, the air quality in Lahore, home to more than 14 million people, dropped to the worst levels on Earth, with pollution levels up to 15 times higher than is deemed healthy and the city enveloped in a thick brown smoke. On the air quality index, “healthy” is 50 – last week Lahore’s air quality soared above 700.

Over the border in India, the capital, Delhi, was also shrouded in the annual thick toxic smog that marks the unwelcome beginning of “pollution season”, affecting more than 25 million people, with air quality remaining in the “very poor” category.

In Delhi and Lahore, cities about 260 miles apart, local governments have made promises and announced measures to prevent the catastrophic levels of pollution that have become an annual event over the past decade. But people complained that the brown smog had arrived even earlier than usual and said all the policies to stop it had failed.

#environment
#toxicair
#smog
#pollution
#worstpolluted
#smogdiplomacy

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