Mocking the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provinces grappling with the smog crisis, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, whose party ruled Sindh for about 15 years, has advised people to move to Karachi for better air quality.
The PPP chairman shared real-time AQI rankings of Pakistan’s cities recorded on November 10 on his X handle. The data showed that KP’s Peshawar was on top with a reading of 591, followed by Multan with 573. Lahore stood in third spot with 479, and Rawalpindi with a measurement of 302. As per the list, Haripur and Islamabad were measured at 272 and 262, respectively, on the AQI.
Karachi’s air quality, however, was recorded at 78, which is considered acceptable. Air pollution in cities with AQI readings between 51 and 100 may pose a moderate health concern for a very small number of individuals, according to health experts.
In recent weeks, the ongoing smog crisis in Pakistan has intensified as the air-carrying toxins from India engulfed various districts of KP after Punjab, where Lahore retains its position on top of the global pollution charts.
On November 10, the provincial capital’s reading was 613 around 10am on the real-time list of most polluted cities in the world by Swiss group IQ Air.
Meanwhile, (PM2.5) pollutants — the fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health — were recorded at 382.2, which is 76.4 times higher than the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual air quality guideline value.
After affecting various cities in Punjab, smog spread beyond the province, blanketing some of the districts in KP, where citizens complained of eye and throat infections and breathing issues.
