Pakistan has been named world’s second most polluted city by the World Air Quality Report.
According to World Air Quality Report 2019, Pakistan has been ranked second most polluted country in the world, with country’s air having one of the highest figure of fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
As per the report, Pakistan records around 113,500 deaths per year due to poor air quality and significantly high air pollution figures.
The air pollution reduces Pakistanis’ age by around 2.5 years and costs up to medical bills amounting to US$ 12.51 billion each year, said the report.
World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the reduction of annual average PM2.5 concentrations from 35 µg/m3, to around 10 µg/m3, could help reduce deaths related to air pollution by about 15 per cent.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s PM2.5 concentrations has been found to be at least 100 per cent above this threshold with levels at 65 µg/m3.
In addition to it, the report also highlighted that increased traffic in metropolitan cities, along with burning of garbage and emissions from industries, are the primary factors behind exponential increase in air pollution in the country.
It is pertinent to know that Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Faisalabad are already considered amongst world’s worst polluted cities.
