South Asia’s Smog Crisis: A Rising Concern Identified from Orbit
The smog problem is worsening in South Asia and turns into a huge cloud, so huge that it can actually be seen from space.
Children in Pakistan are suffering from disruptions daily life based on school closure, park and zoo closures as well. It is indicated that toxic smog remains to be a catastrophe within the region, endowed with severe cutback and health implications.
It was just over two weeks ago that Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, won the unwanted title of being the most polluted city in the world. AQI rose to dangerous levels making it extremely difficult for the city’s 14 million people to breathe in the toxic air they continue to inhale.
Out of control emission to the air – break record on dangerous pollution.
The data from the International Air Quality Index, which focuses on AQI readings above 300, deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups of people. As will be highlighted later in the paper, in the last few months, for the first time in its history, Pakistan’s AQI went past 1000 not once but several times, leading to an even more critical situation.
This has resulted in the authorities in various regions to put in measures so as to alleviate the situation. Schools are closed until 17 November at earliest, numerous employees are encouraged to work from home, and citizens are advised to avoid going outside.
‘You can’t even open your doors and windows, because then the smog comes in and it’s terrible,’ said Rafia Iqbal, a primary school teacher from Lahore. ‘Most people have said time and again that the smog just gets into your home and it’s just stifling,’
Like in neighboring India, farmers in Pakistan have for a long time been using stubble burning to clear land for the next planting season. This agricultural burning discharges enormous emission mass into the atmosphere and given the current pollution levels, they are alarming.
Motorbikes, Factories, and Kilns: The Local Culprits
In addition to the fires, Lahore’s own local sources strongly contribute to the smog. According to the latest statistics, more than five million motorbikes and innumerable other vehicles operate within the city, all of them releasing unhealthy fumes from ignited fuel. However, beyond Lahore there are many industries and more importantly there are many coal fired brick kilns, which are the major sources of toxic air emissions.
The resurfacing of the smog crisis in South Asia is not a regional problem, but a worldwide alert on the situation and consequent emissions of pollution and the necessity to change the course accepted in the contemporary world. Inaction means that the health of hundreds of millions of people, including those already facing very serious illness from COVID, are at stake, and the view from space will simply underscore the environmental threats the human race now faces.
