Lahore, Pakistan’s second city, has been suffocating for two weeks due to record air pollution. ARIF ALI / AFP The air quality index in Lahore, Pakistan’s second city smothered by pollution, fell on Sunday, November 17, below the threshold considered “dangerous” for humans, for the first time in two weeks. The air quality index (AQI) rose on average over the day to 243. However, the air is considered “bad” from 180 and “dangerous” for humans above that. by 300. On November 4, this index stood at 289 in the Indian border city of 14 million inhabitants. Ten days later, it reached a historic peak at 1,110. On Sunday, with an index of 243, the concentration of fine PM2.5 particles in the air was still ten times higher than the threshold deemed acceptable by the World Organization. of Health (WHO). Read also (2022): Article reserved for our subscribers Air pollution increases the risk of stroke, cardiovascular diseases and death Read later Lung cancers and respiratory diseases The Punjab region, where more than half live of 240 million Pakistanis, has already announced to close schools in its main cities until November 24. It also banned all outdoor sports activities in schools until January, banned polluting tuk-touks, barbecues and construction sites in the center of Lahore, closed public spaces and distributed thousands of fines to polluting factories. All these measures are supposed to combat smog, a mixture of fog and polluting emissions caused by diesel fumes, fumes from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling. Prolonged exposure to this smog can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory illnesses. Particularly among children, nearly 600 million of whom are exposed to high pollution in South Asia, according to Unicef. According to a study by the American University of Chicago, high pollution has already reduced life expectancy in Lahore by 7.5 years. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The exorbitant costs of plastic “poison” for human health denounced in a parliamentary report Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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