Second wave of COVID-19 may hit cites with high pollution in winter: PM Imran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday warned that a second wave of the novel coronavirus may hit cities with high pollution levels during the winter season, ARY News reported.

Addressing the Clean-Green Index Encouragement awards distribution ceremony in Islamabad today, PM Imran said that ‘pollution becomes stagnant in the atmosphere’ during the winter and caused diseases. He feared of a second coronavirus spike in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Gujranwala in the winter.

Highlighting his government’s effective strategy about COVID-19, the prime minister said that the world praised Pakistan’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Underscoring the need for reforestation in the country, PM Imran Khan warned that losing greenery means complete destruction. He said that reforestation is vital to save the future of the coming generations in the country.

He maintained that they have set an ambitious target of planting ten billion trees, while keeping our cities clean by managing solid waste is next objective. The prime minister said that efforts are also being made to generate electricity from the solid waste as being done in rest of the world.

He said, “We have to clean air and water pollution, for which we have to first change mind-set of the people to get them realized its importance.”

PM Imran maintained that around 70 per cent of green cover has been vanished in Lahore and as a result the pollution in the city had increased. He hinted at introducing a system of reward and punishment to overcome climate change hazards.

Earlier on July 4, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that unplanned expansion of urban centres had caused environmental damage besides creating risks to the food security.

PM Imran Khan made the statement while chairing a high-level meeting for reviewing the master plan of major cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), as well as the federal capital Islamabad.