In Lahore, Pakistan, Smog Has Become a ‘Fifth Season’

In Lahore, Pakistan, Smog Has Become a ‘Fifth Season’
Mr. Omar said that I realized that in order for air quality to become a national conversation in the way it had in China
and to raise awareness about hazards and solutions, we needed the numbers to be out there,
For years, Pakistani environmentalists have referred to November, when crop burning, higher emissions
and cold weather combine to blanket Lahore and the rest of Punjab Province with acrid smog, as a "fifth season." As in India, which Punjab borders, the problem seems to have been getting worse, and this month it has reached what many Pakistanis are calling a crisis point.
" Mr. Omar said. that No doubt smoke from crop burning in India is a big problem,
but let’s not pretend we don’t have our own part to play in this crisis,
India said that The sense of urgency has to be sustained.
" Mr. Alam said. that There is a lot of media interest in the story and public anger right now, so emergency measures are being taken,
but a long-term solution doesn’t seem to be a priority,
It said that levels of the dangerous particulates known as PM2.5, small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs
and enter the bloodstream, had reached 1,077 micrograms per cubic meter — more than 30 times what Pakistan’s government considers the safe limit.