Karachi: Pakistan faces a significant challenge with escalating pollution levels like many other South Asian countries, leading to some of the world’s most severe air quality issues.
As per data from IQAir, a Swiss company specializing in air quality technology, Pakistan secured the unenviable second position globally for its alarmingly poor air quality in 2023.
The average concentration of PM2.5, harmful airborne particles, stood at 73.7 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³), a far cry from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended level of 5μg/m³.
The situation was particularly dire in Islamabad, where PM2.5 levels skyrocketed to a record high of 42.4μg/m³, marking the city’s worst readings in seven years.
Lahore, previously labeled the most polluted city globally in March 2023, experienced PM2.5 levels exceeding 20μg/m³, reaching a staggering 99.5µg/m³. In November, monthly averages soared to 251µg/m³, prompting judicial intervention to declare a “smog emergency.”
The report underscored that PM2.5 levels in every monitored Pakistani city exceeded 30µg/m³, a stark contrast to WHO’s annual guideline.
Cities like Faisalabad, Karachi, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi also recorded dangerously high PM2.5 levels, mainly attributed to agricultural burning, deforestation, industrial emissions, vehicle fumes, and emissions from brick kilns.
In response, the government implemented lockdowns in Punjab cities to mitigate the thick smog. Furthermore, Lahore witnessed its first-ever artificial rain in December 2023, as aircraft equipped with cloud-seeding technology targeted ten areas to address the hazardous air quality.
Pakistan’s PM2.5 levels ranked second globally, with only Bangladesh surpassing it at 79.9μg/m³, while India secured the third position with 54.4μg/m³.