Smog may increase virus deaths

LAHORE: Deteriorating air quality due to smog may increase the death rate among the corona patients, which are again on rise especially in the provincial metropolis and generally across the province.

Following this situation, Relief Commissioner, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), issued a letter to all the divisional commissioners to strictly implement the SOPs regarding smog prevention. In his letter issued on 15 October, the relief commissioner said that whereas, there is recorded evidence of persistent deterioration in the Air Quality Index of the city of Lahore in particular and Punjab in general, from satisfactory level to moderately and poorly polluted levels, which is likely to cause breathing discomfort, respiratory tract diseases, including asthma, besides heart related ailments amongst children and older adults specifically and the people of all age in general.

It added there was a continuous trend of new COVID-19 patients throughout the province and overlap of conducive conditions for respiratory tract diseases due to smog could exacerbate the casualty rate. It has been corroborated by the World Health Organisation that 4.2 million people die every year as a result of exposure to ambient air pollution and Pakistan was declared the second most polluted country during the year 2019, it added.

The letter stated that the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Lahore High Court had already directed the government to take necessary measures to control smog and the Punjab Cabinet, in its 36th meeting, declared smog a calamity under Section 3 of The Punjab National Calamities (Prevention & Relief), Act 1958, which has been notified vide Notification No. Smog-2020/10/Coord-1 dated 14.10.2020; hence it is mandatory to take all possible measures to contain and arrest the rapid deterioration of ambient Air Quality Index in territorial limits of the province. The relief commissioner announced that in his opinion there were sufficient grounds to proceed under Section 4 (2) (h) of The Punjab National Calamities (Prevention & Relief) Act 1958, as an immediate preventive and speedy remedy and the directions hereinafter appearing are necessary to ensure public safety of smog in the province of Punjab:

“Now therefore, I Babar Hayat Tarar, Relief Commissioner, Government of the Punjab, conserve lives and preempt and mitigate imminent threat in exercise of the powers vested in me under Section 4(2)(h) of The Punjab National Calamities (Prevention & Relief) Act, 1958, hereby order that there shall be a complete ban on the following activities in the territorial limits of the Province of the Punjab: Burning of any type of crop residue, vehicles emitting visible smoke and pollutants, all industries working without emission control deteriorating Air Quality Index, all stone crushers operating without wet scrubbers, burning of all types of solid waste, tyres, rubber and plastics and use of all types of sub-standard fuels, all types of encroachments which hinder the smooth flow of traffic on public roads, including footpaths, any kind of parking which may hamper smooth flow of traffic, all types of activities without proper safeguard which contribute in generating fugitive dust, uncovered and open dumping/storage of construction material, uncovered transportation of construction and other material like sand, mud and cement, any unauthorised activity which maycontribute to formation of smog.