Lahore remains most polluted city of world with worst air quality

LAHORE: Lahore on Monday remained on top of the list of the most polluted cities of the world with average pollution reading of 415, ARY News reported.

Indian capital New Delhi remained second with 325 AQI reading.

According to the air pollution data shared by the Punjab Environment Protection Department, Upper Mall remained the most polluted locality with 508 Air Quality Index reading, Polo Ground Lahore Cantt 491, Lahore College for Women University 297, Lahore College of Earth and Environmental Sciences 250, Town Hall Lahore 299 AQI reading.

AQI as high as 151-200 is considered unhealthy, while an AQI rating between 201 to 300 is more harmful and AQI over 300 has been extremely hazardous.

According to experts, air pollution level goes upward in winter, change in the wind speed, wind direction and sliding minimum temperature increases air pollution.

The air becomes heavier in the winter as compared to summer, causing poisonous particles in the atmosphere to move downwards and making the atmosphere polluted. As a result, a layer of polluted particles, including large amounts of carbon and smoke, covers an area.

The smoke produced by burning crop remnants, factories and burning coal, garbage, oil or tyres enters in the atmosphere and the impact of it appears at the onset of winter and remain till the season’s end, experts said.

Thus, air pollution reaches to extremely dangerous levels, severely compromising the air quality.

The AQI is calculated based on five categories of pollution: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.