LAHORE (Kashmir English): Bad air keeps Punjab capital Lahore placed on top of the most polluted cities of the world with Air Quality Index (AQI) reading 509 on Monday.
Indian capital city New Delhi ranked second on the list with AQI reading 221 and Egypt’s Cairo placed third with 201 AQI.
The other world cities with worst air quality included Dhaka with 167 AQI, Shanghai 161 and Kolkata 158 on the AQI.
According to media reports, polluted air blowing from India’s Amritsar and Attari increases air quality index level in Lahore.
According to officials, water was being sprinkled with smoke guns in the city to keep the air pollution level down.
Meanwhile, Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has urged the farmers to avoid burning twigs of the crop. She also advised citizens to adopt car-pooling for travel.
“The vehicles should not be brought to road without fitness certificate,” minister further said.
The smog and air pollution haunt Punjab with the onset of winter. In previous years authorities made desperate efforts to contain smog in cities. The province grappled with severe air pollution, which soared to alarming levels, causing serious public health issues.
Lahore air pollution level
Air pollution level in the city once rose to more than 80 times of the level deemed hygienic by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The authorities closed schools and restricted timing of eateries, other businesses and markets to save general public from the adverse impact of toxic pollution.
