Tens of millions of Pakistanis spent at least four months breathing toxic air pollution 20 times above safe levels, in the worst winter smog season for several years, according to data analysed by AFP.
AFP’s analysis of data recorded since 2018 by independent air monitoring project AQICN shows the 2024-2025 winter smog season started a month earlier in October and persisted at higher levels, including in cities normally less affected by pollution.
Lahore’s 14 million residents spent six months breathing concentrations of PM2.5 – tiny particles that can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream – at levels 20 times or more than recommended by the World Health Organization.
Those in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, and the capital Islamabad were subjected to 120 days of the same choking pollution levels.
“The smog…
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Daily News (Digital) - 1 Issue, 2025-03-12