The new smog and air pollution chart reveals that Lahore ranks second with a score of 467, followed by Peshawar at third with a score of 392.
Rawalpindi comes fourth with a score of 254, while Islamabad is in fifth place with a score of 228. Other cities on the list include Haripur with a score of 193, Abbottabad at seventh with 171, and Karachi ranked eighth with a score of 83.
Punjab’s Senior Minister, Maryam Aurangzeb, has urged citizens to take precautions. She advised people in the most affected cities to avoid going outdoors, and, if they must, to wear masks for protection.
She emphasised that air pollution has become a serious issue not just for individual cities or provinces but for Pakistan and the wider region as a whole.
Locals are facing immense difficulties as thick blanket of smog has once again enveloped parts of Multan and its adjoining areas.
According to details, traffic on national highways and motorways was badly interrupted while the drivers were directed to avoid unnecessary travel.
As per Met office, mainly cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country. However, cloudy weather conditions with light rain-thunderstorm (with light snowfall over the hills) is predicted at isolated places in Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Rawalpindi, Sargodha divisions, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.
Earlier, the government had ordered all traditional brick kilns closed for 70 days to combat worsening of smog.
The kiln organizations strongly criticized the decision, stating that the government had not taken any step to control the increasing prices of bricks.
“How I will provide food to my three children during closure of the kilns?” asked Sumaira Bibi, 35, who with her 60-year-old husband frames up 1,200 bricks a day for a kiln near Islamabad, earning about $8.
The government had also ordered that all kilns be converted to “zig-zag” technology, a design change that makes more efficient use of fuel, according to the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency. No deadline for the switch has been set.
