Over 11M children breathe toxic air in Pakistan. UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund) representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil on Monday demanded more and immediate actions for preventing endangering of children and reducing air pollution as more than 11 million children under five years of age breathe the poisonous smog in the worst affected districts of Punjab.
Over 11M children breathe toxic air in Pakistan!
They said that last month the air quality in the province rendered it a “calamity.” The main cities of Punjab have shut their schools through November 17 to reduce much contact kids have with the pollution.
Besides, entry to public parks, zoos, playgrounds and museums has been prohibited until November 17 to minimize exposure to smog by the public.
Today seven cities in the Punjab province have recorded AQI over 400, with Sialkot recording 774. The index categorises AQI above 300 as hazardous to human health.
UN Fund released a statement in Islamabad, Lahore and Multan recorded the highest levels of air pollution last week while at least several people including over 40 children were admitted to hospitals.
“The degree of air pollution is such that it is seen from space: Today the subjects reported to us by the BBC,” it said.
It scares me to the marrow that young children have to literally choke on polluted and toxic air. Expressing concern at the emerging smog situation, the Fund said: ‘Over 11 million children under the age of five live in the severally affected districts’, said Fadil, Fund’s representative to Pakistan.
“Before these record levels of air pollution which are unprecedented about 12 per cent of deaths among children under five in Pakistan were attributed to air pollution,” said Fadil.
He said that the effect of ‘this extraordinary smog will be measured in time; however, ‘we understand that increasing an amount of pollution in the air two or three times will be fatal for children and pregnant women’.
UNICEF Warning to Pakistan !
“Young children are most affected by air pollution because they have small lungs and are not immunologically as developed as older people,” Fadil said.
“If inhaled, even minute air pollutants can be very dangerous to the babies’ lungs and their brains,” he said further noting that particulate air pollution ‘can harm brain tissue [and] cognitive development — for life and with negative developmental consequences’.
“While pregnant women breathe in polluted air they are bound to be hospitalized due to premature births, respiratory problems and their babies end up being born with low weight”, he said.
Unicef Warning to Pakistan : Fadil stated that “the learning of almost 16m children in Punjab was disrupted” UNICEF School closure ranged from July to November 17 in Punjab province. The government has brought schools to an online platform.
He urged the government to protect every child’s “right to breathe clean air”.
From cutting greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and industry to increasing clean energy and sustainable transport, these are no longer just global warming defence measures, they are to save children’s lives today, Fadil said.
He urged authorities to immediately “step up enforcement of current standards and strengthen haze regulation from today or in the future in the long term”.
He said that COP29 offered governments a true chance to turn ‘talk into climate action before it’s too late’.
This is a clear indication that, we cannot allow our babies to breathe toxic air. We cannot afford to lose much more for health, education and well-being of millions of children he pointed out and further urged the international community, to take action for the sake of children.
Most Polluted City In Pakistan
These are the most polluted city in pakistan :
Most Polluted city in Pakistan: Punjab has blamed its hazardous air this year on pollution blowing in from India, which itself has been battling dangerous air in the northern regions, and promised to take up the matter with its neighbour through its foreign ministry.
Delhi’s AQI is at 301, the latest data from IQAir indicates.
Toxic Air in Pakistan ( Pollution and Restrictions)
Over 11M children breathe toxic air in Pakistan! Since this year, Lahore has gained a position among the most polluted cities in the world; however, record pollution levels in Lahore are occurring this month. This city is now inhabited by 14 million people and filled with factories close to India.
Punjab province has shut educational institutions and public venues such as parks and zoos until November 17 in cities, including Lahore, which IQAir reports as the world’s most polluted city due to toxic air in pakistan, which quality is based on its live ratings. Officials have been advising people against making unnecessary journeys.
At 6 am on Tuesday, the AQI of Lahore was 1045, followed by Delhi at 329, according to IQAir’s data.
As many as 80 residents in the city are suffering from various health problems, said the Environmental Protection Department in Punjab.
Multan remained the most polluted city on Monday with air quality index readings of about 800. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous to health.
The AQI level passed 2,000 last week in Multan – a staggering height never seen before by incredulous residents.
As of June, the international Air Quality Index Scale measures index value of 300 or higher as “hazardous” to health, and Pakistan regularly tips over 1,000 on the scale.
Low-grade fuel emissions coming from factories and vehicles, combined with agricultural stubble burning, shroud the city each winter when cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds trap it in.
The WHO says that air pollution can trigger strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases. It is particularly punishing for children and babies, and the elderly.
Though the government has ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks, that has been widely disregarded.
The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution.
Read the official UNICEF report here: https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/press-releases/over-11-million-children-under-5-peril-they-breathe-toxic-air-punjab-pakistan-unicef
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