Rawalpindi/Islamabad No respite from smog in sight

Islamabad: Smog continued to grip Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Tuesday, especially in the morning and at night, like several areas of Punjab including Lahore, Khanewal, Bhakkar and Faisalabad.

Like last many days, the people woke up in the day to a blanket of smog as the air quality deteriorated sharply, triggering breathing problems, irritated eyes and low visibility on roads.

The people used face masks and sunglasses as a precautionary measure against smog, which environmentalists say, is the blend of smoke and fog in the air and is caused when pollutants don’t get sucked up into the atmosphere.

They blame that atmospheric phenomenon on low rainfall, large-scale burning of crops and heavy vehicular traffic and said it would ease only after rains fell.

The weathermen said there was not much respite from smog in the days ahead and warned that due to stable climatic conditions, smoggy conditions were likely to stay put in near future.

They also said less than average rainfall was expected in the current and next months and therefore, smog, fog and mist would continue to be there mostly in Punjab and KP.