AP news agency covers the Lahore story. It is located in the Punjab region of Pakistan, which is facing an air pollution crisis. The problem has spread to neighboring countries. Both India and Bangladesh, but international conflicts have perpetuated the crisis.
“Lahore is a city with beautiful gardens. Built since the Mughal dynasty. Today it has turned into a city that smells of fire. The air quality is poor,” offers the AP.
Toxic smog has sickened tens of thousands of Lahore residents in recent months. Due to poor visibility, airlines cancel their flights
At the end of last year, the UAE government provided two aircraft and an industrial team to manufacture rain. Go help solve the problem of toxic smoke in the Punjab region. This is the first time artificial rain has been used to solve the toxic dust problem in South Asia.
Emirati planes sprayed a mixture of silver iodide, potassium iodide, and dry ice on the clouds, causing them to condense and fall in the form of artificial rain in 10 cities in Lahore.
But making artificial rain will only solve the problem for a short time. When the artificial rain runs out, dust returns to blanket the city of Lahore again.
Lahore city officials tried to find other solutions. To solve the problem of toxic dust, such as water spraying on the road, procedures were issued to close schools during periods of poor air quality that pose a health risk.
But it didn't have much effect.
The air pollution covering Lahore comes from industrial sources. There are textile mills, steel mills, and rubber factories, and a population of approximately 10 million people. Moreover, wind currents in the region play an important role in blowing toxic dust and smog all the way to New Delhi. India is a neighbor located next to each other.
Climate Expert Appeal to Pakistan Bangladesh and India are cooperating to solve this crisis, but because of the relations between India and Pakistan. It collapsed until three wars broke out, each side creating rival armies. Including developing nuclear weapons to suppress the other party, there is no way to know how to cooperate to solve the air crisis.
Abid Choleri, an expert at the non-profit Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Pakistan, noted that air pollution moves across borders without visas, so it is important for India to negotiate a cooperative solution. Pakistan must do this because they are affected in the same way.
India and Pakistan this year there will be new elections. The only person in Pakistan who raised the issue of air pollution and thought of a solution is former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, pledges to solve the problem of global warming. More than 1,700 people died after massive floods in the Punjab region in August 2022.
Major floods in Punjab are known to be caused by weeks of heavy rain. This led to the Sutlej River overflowing and submerging an area up to 4 kilometers wide, and the authorities were forced to evacuate more than 100,000 people from the area.
After the event passed, the people of Punjab are still facing problems. People are hungry, children are not going to school. Malaria bacteria, dengue virus, Aviva, epidemic infection.
Zardari believes that Pakistan has become the center of the global warming crisis. There are bad signs. Many things appear, such as the melting of glaciers on the peaks of the Himalayas due to extremely hot weather.
Southern Pakistan is turning into a desert due to the destruction of forests, so Pakistan must invest in tackling climate change.
Political Parties in India Many parties have raised the issue of global warming during election campaigns. Mr. Narendra Modi's government is focusing on solving the air pollution problem. The goal is to solve the problem of 102 polluted cities and return them to clean cities. Under the National Clean Air Act
The World Bank recommends that for regional air pollution policies, countries should agree on how to set common air quality targets and measures. They should attend meetings regularly to exchange experiences and, if possible, establish air quality standards together.
The World Bank indicates that approximately 93% of Pakistanis are affected by severe pollution. India has 96% of the affected population as well.
It is estimated that approximately 1.5 billion people in both India and Pakistan are exposed to high concentrations of air pollution.
Punjab region alone, about 220,000 people die every year from causes related to air pollution.
Every day in Lahore there are about 6.7 million cars and motorcycles moving, and there are industrial factories emitting smoke. The dust causes smog to cover the sky over the rooftops of houses, mosques, schools and squares so that you can hardly see anything in the distance.
A Pakistani shopping website reported that since October last year, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people in Punjab clicking to buy air purifiers and face masks.
Kafar Abbas Chowdhury Respiratory Specialist About Lahore: It was once a beautiful city. But this winter there was a 100 percent increase in the number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases.
The reason for the increase in patients is air pollution.
This doctor emphasized that countries, governments and different agencies should participate in solving problems
Syed Naseem Aur Reh Man Sah, Director of the Punjab Environment Protection Department, spoke of his pride in his success in combating the problem of air pollution. Industrial factories that emit pollutants into the air and brick kilns will be subject to tight supervision by the authorities. Farmers will receive government subsidies to purchase new machinery to help reduce stubble burning. Drivers of tuk-tuks, motorcycles and passenger buses will be happy with the electric railway project.
Sah had gone to India to discuss climate change. With regional organizations SAARC giving opportunities to countries let's talk about air pollution. But she admitted that there was no formal cooperation at the ministerial level with India.
Shah showed an AP reporter a screen in a smog control room showing Pakistan's air quality index lower than China's.
Pratima Singh, a scientist at the Center for Science and Technology Education, has been researching air pollution in India for more than a decade. She said South Asian countries could replicate the EU model of working together to address pollution challenges. Create new policies Share information and research best practices.
Given the state of toxic dust in our country today, it remains a chronic problem. Last government came up with measures to strictly control the release of various toxic fumes. Establishing a negotiating table with neighboring countries. But it wasn't successful. Even in winter, problems come back to haunt the Thai people again and again.
This time, it's the government's turn: Sitha Thaweesin to show his skills in dealing with smog and toxic dust. If we give a preliminary assessment of the government’s work, it shows the seriousness and seriousness in using intensive measures to reduce the amount of toxic dust, such as the campaign to stop burning forests. Stop burning corn cobs and sugar cane and detect black smoke from cars. Monitor industrial plants that emit toxic soot.
Or trying to push the Clean Air Bill through Parliament when MPs have already voted unanimously in the first session. It is currently under consideration by the Special Committee.
If this bill is approved in the House of Representatives and becomes effective, it should be an important tool in solving the toxic dust problem. Because there is a penalty for burning the forest. Both imprisonment, increased fines, and tax mechanisms to encourage investment and cover claims for expenses from cross-border polluters.
At the beginning of this month, Mr. Sitha phoned Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, to discuss establishing a task force to solve the cross-border toxic dust problem.
I think the government is doing a very good job. But the measure of success in solving the toxic dust problem lies in the air quality standards or AQI (Air Quality Index).
Al-Qaeda has improved throughout the country this year compared to previous years, and that is why it can be said that the “Sitha” government has solved the toxic dust problem excellently. •
Environment | Thawesak Bhutan
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