POLLUTION:

TOP 5 POLLUTED CITIES OF PAKISTAN:

1. PESHAWAR
2. RAWALPINDI
3. KARACHI
4. LAHORE
5. ISLAMABAD

Lahore smog: It's not a natural phenomenon

Every December, thick fog descends upon Lahore, blocking out the winter sunshine, closing
off the motorway after dusk and preventing flights from landing at the international airport
at night.

The problem has grown worse over the last five years due to the high levels of pollution and poor
air quality in the city, created by increasing vehicular and industrial emissions. Even during the
summer months, there is now a permanent haze hanging over the city that is only relieved when it
rains and the pollution is washed away for a short while.

Air pollution is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed as Lahore is now considered amongst
the most polluted cities in Asia. In the winter months, with delayed rainfall, the cold and
continuously dry conditions concentrate all the pollutants in the lower levels of the atmosphere,
causing the smog to spread all over the Punjab.

“After a month of thick fog or rather smog, we finally saw some sunshine last week after some
light rain came down the night before,” explains a resident of the Lahore Canal area. “We are so
sick of the cold and damp that comes with the smog each year.” The foggy conditions also lower
the daytime temperatures since there is little sunshine to warm up the day.

According to Dr Qamar uz Zaman Chaudhry, national climate change expert and former Director
General of Pakistan’s Meteorological Department, “The main source of the pollutants in our lower
atmosphere is Eastern Punjab where all the coal based industries are centered (across the border in
India). Of course, we have added our share of the pollutants as well from factory and car
emissions.”

In places near irrigation canals, rice paddies and rivers where there is more moisture available, the
fog gets even thicker. The smog only gets cleared when it rains, washing away the lower layers of
the atmosphere where all the harmful gases and other pollutants are trapped near the ground.

Lahore, along with New Delhi, has recently been listed amongst the top 10 worst cities for smog in
2014 according to the Deutche Welle website. Until industries on both sides of the border start
cleaning up their emissions and people start using more fuel-efficient transportation, people will
just have to avoid going outdoors or wear masks as they do in the heavily polluted cities of China
in Beijing. Breathing in all these trapped pollutants (dust and harmful substances like sulphur
dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide) is not exactly healthy. Industrial smog can in fact
create major health risks, including asthma, lung tissue damage, bronchial infections and heart
problems.

Last month, the Government of the Punjab submitted a report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on
the steps taken to curtail pollution in the province. According to the report, there has been a great
increase in the number of vehicles in Lahore during the recent past, which has resulted in
worsening air quality.

The report also pointed out that there is now a complete ban on the issuance of registration and
route permit of two stroke engine rickshaws (introduced in 2005) and the process of conversion or
replacement of existing 2-stroke rickshaws into 4-stroke rickshaws has been initiated. However,
many of the motor vehicles plying the city roads have old engines that guzzle petrol and diesel and
spew out poisonous fumes and there is a need for stricter laws on banning these vehicles.

In Delhi, which is also blanketed by smog throughout the winter months, the well-known
environmental NGO, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is urging the government of
India to acknowledge the air pollution problem and put in place pollution emergency action for
smog episodes. According the to the CSE, “What matters most from the public health perspective is
the daily dose of toxins that people breathe. If urgent steps are not taken to bring pollution levels
down to meet clean air standards, it will lead to a public health disaster.”

mpure water intake causing serious diseases

CM’s Task Force head admits rusted pipes polluting water
Jamaluddin Jamali
LAHORE: The contaminated drinking water is posing serious health hazards to people in the provincial
capital but the government is not taking necessary measures to address and overcome the problem.
An Environment Protection Department (EPD) official told The Post that the water being supplied in the city
through rusted water pipes of WASA has become a major threat to the life of common man but the government
has no funds or doable intentions to replace the broken pipes as per its promises.

He said that in near future even the poor would have to buy mineral water to sustain life on earth as almost
every second man, women and children suffer from serious liver disorders due impure water intake. “Waterborn
disease like diarrhoea and cholera are also bad gift of polluted water,” he added.

The reports of the samples taken by the officials of the environment department for test in labs showed that the
water was contaminated and health hazardous.

In a survey, a majority of citizens told The Post that the candidates of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) made tall claims and pledges to replace the rusted and broken water supply pipes
to get votes from people of slums (kachi abadis) and old residential areas. The survey revealed that
apprehensions of the people regarding the harms of polluted water have increased recently due to clinical
laboratory reports which show positive every second patient to be Hepatitis B and C positive and people now
are well aware that Hepatitis B and C take life in most cases. They know that Hepatitis it is not like traditional
Yarkan (Jaundice) which used to get curried by some simple herbal formulas.
EPD sources told The Post that as per reports drinking water in about 86 percent areas of the city was impure
and there were sewerage contents in the water as rusted pipe suck part of the polluted water below the earth.

The water sample collected from various localities indicated that the 80 percent samples were found
contaminated and it was not fit for human consumption.

80 percent of the samples taken by the Punjab environment Protection Department (EPD) from 150 locations of
the city were found contaminated. EPD officials said samples tests showed high ratio of bacteria, fluoride and
arsenic in the water besides colour change.

As per the EPD laboratory reports the water samples taken from Wahdat Colony, Badami Bagh, Bund Road,
Muslim Town, Allama Iqbal Town, Sabzazar Colony, Sherankot, Multan Road, Sandha Kalan, Bhaati Gate,
Gulshan Ravi, Baghbanpura, McLeod Road, Royal Park, and Riwaz Garden Kot Lakhpat, Madina Town, Ismail
Nagar, Shadbagh, Shafiqabad, Ravi Road, Ravi Colony, Shahdara, Model Town, Rasool Park, Thokar Niaz
Baig, Liaqatabad, Green Town, Chungi Amar Sadhu, Bakar Mandi Empress Road, was found contaminated and
such water intake was harmful to human health.

Chief Minister’s Task Force on Environment Chairman Dr Owais Farooqui told The Post that drinking water in
the city was getting more and more contaminated due to seepage of factory waste and sewerage water into to
subsoil water where from WASA pumps draw water. He admitted that the rusted water supply pipes were also a
major reason for none availability of ‘pure’ water to citizens.

Water Pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies like lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater.
Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without
adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.

Main Causes

 Disposal of untreated municipal liquid waste

 Leaking sewer lines
 Industrial waste water

Effects

 Drinking water contamination

 Pollution of Water Bodies i.e River Ravi, Hudiara drain, Lahore Branch Canal
 Sub-soil water pollution
 Loss of aquatic life
 Crop damages
 Heavy metals in food chain
 Increased rate of water borne diseases

Remedies

 Treatment plants for municipal and & industrial effluents before disposal to water bodies
 Adequate collection, recycling and disposal
  Application of “Clean Technology” at the industrial units
 Segregate sewage lines to avoid mixing with drinking water supply
 Fitter plants for clean drinking water
 Application of 3R formulas i.e. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

How to conserve water

 Don’t pour water down the drain. Instead, use it to water your plants or garden
 Fix dripping faucets, one drop per second wastes 2700 gallons of water per year
 Take shorter showers and turn off the water while you lather up
 Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or washing your face
 When hand-washing dishes, use two containers-one with soapy water for washing and the other with
plain water for rinsing
 Don’t water your lawn too much. Grass only needs to be watered about once a week in the summer.
Lawns can go two weeks without water after a heavy rain

PESHAWAR: Peshawar among most polluted cities: study

ZULFIQAR ALI — PUBLISHED Jul 28, 2008 12:00am

WHATSAPP

0 COMMENTS

EMAIL

PRINT
PESHAWAR, July 27: Portraying a bleak picture of environmental degradation, the NWFP Environmental
Protection Agency (Epa) has declared the provincial capital one of the most polluted cities facing with serious
ecological problems.

“Peshawar is the most polluted one among other major cities of the NWFP with carbon dioxide emission reaching up to 23
particles per million (ppm) against the World Health Organisation guidelines of 10ppm,” reveals a study conducted by the
agency.

Other major cities including Nowshera, Hangu, Karak, Haripur, Mardan, Abbottabad, Mingora, Kohat, Bannu and D.I. Khan
have also surpassed the WHO limits pertaining to major air pollutants. Despite enactment of various laws including the Pakistan
Environmental Act, action plans and formation of environmental tribunals during the last one decade, ecology is on the verge of
degradation in urban and rural areas of the province.

The agency in its report “Environmental profile of the NWFP”, which is yet to be published, says that the province is
confronted with growing environmental issues like urbanisation, population explosion and non-judicious exploitation of natural
resources which are threatening the environment in socio-economic terms.

ADVERTISEMENT
“Problems have been further exacerbated with the influx of million of Afghan refugees by putting immense pressure on the
fragile resource-based ecology and nascent infrastructure of the province and triggering ecological demands including air and
water pollution, solid waste problems, deforestation, soil erosion, growing scarcity of water, overuse of rangelands and wasteful
energy consumption,” says the report.

The main sources of air pollution in the province, according to the study are: vehicular emissions, industrial emissions,
emissions from brick kiln factories, massive burning of solid waste/refuse, domestic burnings, fuel adulteration and use of ill-
maintained vehicles.
The more serious illnesses related to air pollution include bronchitis, asthma and cancer. It can even lead to mental impairment
in children. Respiratory infections and allergies are very common diseases attributed to dust and smoke. Increasing number of
roads accidents are also attributed to high level of carbon monoxide, causing drowsiness, headache and even death on heavy
traffic roads due to the formation of carboxyl haemoglobin.

NOISE: Noise level also exceeds the permissible level of 85 decibels unit. Major source of noise pollution is road
transport specially auto-rickshaws plying on roads with defective silencers, trains and aircrafts.

The industrial units in the province are scattered over a vast stretch of the province with greater concentration in and
around the cities of Peshawar, Haripur, Charsadda, Nowshera and Gadoon Amazai. Industrial emissions from chimneys
are also a source of air pollution in these areas. The combustion of old rubber tyres and used mobile oil in these factories
emits hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. The increased number of brick kilns situated in the
province particularly in Peshawar have almost doubled the level of air pollution mainly due to the use of large amount
of rubber, low quality of coal and used oil for burning purposes.

SOLID WASTE: In the NWFP generation of municipal solid waste is estimated to be between 0.4 and 0.6 kilograms per
day per capita and virtually, no proper waste management system exists. Approximately 40 per cent of the generated
wastes remain at collection points, or in streets, where they emit a host of pollutants into the air, making it unacceptable
for breathing. Also on roadside, the dump burning of the municipal solid wastes generates air pollution problem.

The Epa has found that quality of drinking water is often low and seldom met the WHO guidelines. Water in many
parts of the province was unsafe for human consumption due to both bacterial and chemical contamination.

It says that water samples of Haripur, Bannu and Kohat districts were 70 to 80 per cent clear from bacteriological
contamination. About 40 per cent water samples were found contaminated in Peshawar and Nowshera, almost 50 per
cent in Mardan and Swat. More than 60 per cent contaminated samples belonged to D.I. Khan, Chitral and Mansehra.
While more than 80 per cent contaminated water samples pertained to Lakki, Hangu and Malakand districts.

SURFACE WATER: The quality of surface water has also been identified as the major issue of water resources.
Untreated waste discharged from factories, industrial units, residential areas and municipal waste are the prime culprits
which are polluting sources of surface water. It said that Bara River received untreated sewage and waste water from
the eastern and central part of Peshawar city and the sub-urban areas and ultimately discharges into Kabul River.

One of the sources of pollution in Swat River is the water coming from its main tributaries, the Mingora Khawar. All the
waste and effluent in Mingora city are added to Mingora Khawar and these pollutants are further injected into river
swat contributing to its ecological degradation as well. The main sources of identified pollution entering the Kabul River
system are untreated industrial effluent from sugar mills, paper and board mills, tanneries and textile mills. In addition,
ghee and chemicals contribute significant pollutants.

Untreated municipal waste effluents from Peshawar and Nowshera enter the system mainly via the Budni Nulla, Bara
River and the Kalpani River. Several sewers also discharge untreated waste to the system. About four sugar mills
discharge their effluent to the river Kabul. Nowshera Aman Grah, Peshawar, Hattar-Haripur and Gadoon-Amazi
industrial estates revealed some frightening figures that indicated serious threats to the aquatic, terrestrial, atmospheric
ecosystems, and to the well-being of human, plant and animal life.

GREEN SECTOR: About green sector problems, the report says that a very large livestock population and excessive
grazing, and over harvesting of natural vegetation are the main causes of rangeland degradation in the NWFP. Despite
serious environmental problems caused by excessive overgrazing, little has been done to rehabilitate depleted rangeland.

It says that the forest area of the province decreased by 10.5 per cent from 1991 to 2004-05 and the reasons for this fast
rate of deforestation were rapid increase in human and livestock populations.