Smog in Lahore: A Painting of Greys
Smog Frequently engulfs Lahore, turning Pakistan’s 2nd Largest city into a Painting of Greys. Ibra walks us through the detrimental effects of Smog in her city and what needs to be done to prevent further Damage.
Illustration by Alicia Hayden.
The consequence of industrialisation, the outcome of uncontrolled air pollution, is smog - the germ that has affected millions around the globe. The seed of this was sown back in the 1940s during World War II, when a so-called chemical cloud hit the city of Los Angeles. Research was conducted and it finally came to light that its cause was none other than the city’s own vehicles and factories. Massive wartime immigration had led this town to be a strategic hub of transport and industry. Nothing was helpful in gaining control over the increasing smog episodes.
Finally, Arie Haagen Smit, a Dutch Chemist, unfolded this mystery. He discovered that smog occurred when hydrocarbons released from automobiles were struck by sunlight.
Since then, the deadly smog has taken many lives and is threatening to take more with the passing time. It has radiated its fatal impact on every age group especially on infants and adolescents. According to the World Health Organisation, the combined effects of ambient and household air pollution cause about seven million premature deaths every year. It is largely a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. Over 80 percent of individuals living in metropolitan areas that screen air contamination are exposed to air quality levels that surpass WHO guideline limits. A recent report ranked Lahore as the most polluted city in the world. What was once the “City of Gardens”, has now become nothing but a mere painting of greys. Instead of waking up to a morning blue sky, we encounter smog swallowing the sky of Lahore into its grimace. The severely increasing levels of smog have left residents with no choice but to flee the city. In 2016, ambient and household air pollution caused 543,000 deaths in children under 5 and 52,000 deaths in children aged 5-15. Evidence shows that children who are educated in a polluted environment tend to become slow learners and make less progress in their studies as a part of their brains is affected by lethal air pollutants. As indicated by an examination by The Lancet, a stunning number of at least 135,000 individuals, the greater part of them kids, face death yearly in Pakistan, on account of air contamination.
Given the damage that smog can induce, it is imperative that critical measures are undertaken to improve air quality. The abnormal rise in smog levels has duty-bound the government of Pakistan to think about solutions, such as artificial rain. Chemicals injected in the atmosphere of Earth will reflect the composition of clouds that will result in precipitation; hence the air could be cleansed. The transport sector is the biggest culprit of smog production, with an alarming contribution of 43%. Use of public transport must be encouraged to avoid the catastrophe of smog. The Forest department should be ordered to plant a large number of trees to fight this danger. Plantation will aid in ridding the air of unwanted chemicals that contribute to the formation of smog. Farmers should be warned by the government about burning crops as the smoke produced from this adds to the effect of smog. Alongside this, mask distributions by the government and awareness sessions in collaboration with non-government organisations like the WWF would be effective in helping people, especially for the working class, to avoid breathing in smog.
Smog has become a public health emergency in Punjab. If the issue of smog is not dealt with urgently, a healthy population will cease to exist in Lahore in near future. The public needs to be aware about the health issues triggered by this environmental hazard and be educated about the possible ways to protect themselves against it. Public service messages on television, radio, and the Internet, along with the distribution of educational pamphlets and brochures can be a few of the effective way to ensure this. Alongside this, the above-mentioned solutions, if implemented, could prove to be extremely useful in tackling the issue of smog.
Ibra AamiR
Ibra is an o-levels student based in Lahore, Pakistan. Having a great passion for books and words, she works as a writer and editor for various magazines. Ibra has authored many articles on feminism and South-Asian culture and acknowledges the power of words, which has motivated her to pen articles on topics not widely discussed in our society. While working with Bloom in Doom, she aspires to become a well-known writer.