(Lahore) Lahore au Pakistan était mercredi la ville avec l’air le plus pollué au monde, au grand dam de la population qui pousse les autorités à enfin s’attaquer au problème.
Le taux de particules fines PM2,5, les plus dangereuses, était mercredi matin à Lahore de 348 microgrammes par mètre cube d’air(μg/ m3), selon le réseau spécialisé AirVisual, soit 23 fois le niveau recommandé par l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS).
« Les enfants ont des maladies respiratoires […] “Shit, look for a solution,” Mohamed Saeed, a farm worker, told the authorities.
In recent years, smog reached alarming levels in October in Pakistan. As in neighboring India, the drop in temperatures combined with weak winds leaves pollution on the ground, from agricultural burns and industrial or automobile emissions, leading to respiratory and heart problems.
Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan with a population of over 11 million, and the capital of the Punjab region near the border with India, is regularly among the most polluted cities in the world.
According to Air Visual, in 2020 Pakistan was the second most polluted country in the world – after Bangladesh but ahead of India – and Lahore was 18th.NS Most stale city.
The Pakistani people are beginning to realize the situation. Pakistan AirQuality (PAQ), a citizens’ initiative to address the lack of official data in the country, was launched in 2016.
Low-cost purifiers were manufactured, several initiatives were taken, and legal action was initiated against the management. But the authorities were slow to respond, accusing India of causing the smog or questioning pollution figures.
“We are poor and we can’t even pay for the doctor,” said merchant Ikram Ahmed.
You can only beg (the authorities) to control the pollution. I am not an educated person, but I read that Lahore has the worst air quality in front of New Delhi. And expect things to continue like this, we will die.
“Before, I used to go (for a walk) with my children, but now I don’t let them go out with me anymore,” said Muhammad Saeed.
There are factories and small industries operating here. “Either we put them in another place and compensate them, or we give them more modern technology, so we can get rid of this smog,” he added.