{"id":9800,"date":"2024-11-02T10:41:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-02T10:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=9800"},"modified":"2024-11-02T10:41:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T10:41:45","slug":"indian-diwali-celebrations-worsen-lahores-smog-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=9800","title":{"rendered":"Indian Diwali celebrations worsen Lahore’s smog situation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lahore’s air quality hits more than 250, causing health concerns amid winds from India post-Diwali celebrations.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong winds from India have pushed Lahore’s PM2.5 air quality index spiked to more than 250, causing illnesses among residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Air Quality Index Project reported a very unhealthy reading of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Lahore, which are tiny particles that can be easily inhaled and affect health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The readings by The World Air Quality Index Project showed a spike in the PM2.5 matter for Saturday shortly after Friday’s Diwali celebrations in neighbouring New Delhi which saw the extensive use of fireworks in the Indian capital despite a government ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The health warnings indicated emergency conditions for Lahore that could impact the entire population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active children, adults, and individuals with respiratory diseases like asthma are advised to refrain from any outdoor activities in these conditions. Others, particularly children, should minimise their outdoor exertion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, local meteorologists have warned citizens that the intensity of the smog will persist for the next 48 hours, according to Express News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA has released a map of the high winds, indicating that severe smoke from the burning of crop residues in India has entered Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Space Agency also shared air imagery showing that large-scale burning of crop residues in Indian regions has intensified the smog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to changing wind patterns, Lahore’s average air pollution index was 157 yesterday, compared to an average of 180 over the past five days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The swift winds from India have carried smoke into Pakistani areas, with climate experts stating that the extensive burning of crop residues in India has rapidly increased smog levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In areas under a green smart lockdown, dozens were arrested for violating government orders, with over 600,000 fines imposed in just 24 hours. The e-challan system, supported by artificial intelligence, is also ongoing, as reported by Express News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, India’s capital New Delhi was wreathed in poisonous smog Friday, with air pollution worsening after a fireworks ban was widely flouted for raucous celebrations for the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

New Delhi’s traffic-clogged streets are home to more than 30 million people, and the city is regularly ranked as one of the most polluted urban areas on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city is blanketed in cancer-causing acrid smog each year, primarily blamed on stubble burning by farmers in neighbouring regions to clear their fields for ploughing, as well as factories and traffic fumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But air worsened Friday after a thunderous night of firecrackers lit as part of Diwali celebrations, despite city authorities last month banning their sale and use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City police had seized nearly two tonnes of fireworks before Diwali, but the crackers remained readily available for sale in neighbouring states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many residents celebrated at home, holding a family meal and lighting small candles in praise of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi and symbolising the victory of light over darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others launched firework rockets and booming crackers, rocking the densely packed city throughout the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police are often reluctant to act against violators, given the strong religious sentiments attached to the crackers by Hindu devotees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics say arguments between rival politicians heading neighbouring states — as well as between central and state-level authorities — have compounded the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India’s Supreme Court last month ruled that clean air was a fundamental human right, ordering both the central government and state-level authorities to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Delhi’s toxic air is killing us softly with its smog,” the Times of India wrote in an editorial last week, as the winter pollution returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is nothing new, but what doesn’t cease to amaze, year after year, is the state’s stilted response.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levels of fine particulate matter — dangerous microparticles known as PM2.5 pollutants that enter the bloodstream through the lungs — surged to more than 23 times the World Health Organization recommended daily maximum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after dawn, pollutant levels topped 345 micrograms per cubic metre, according to monitoring firm IQAir, which listed air in the sprawling megacity as “hazardous”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It rated New Delhi as worst in the world, just above smoke-choked Lahore in neighbouring Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link: https:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2506919\/smog-reigns-in-lahore-diseases-begin-to-spread<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lahore’s air quality hits more than 250, causing health concerns amid winds from India post-Diwali celebrations. Strong winds from India have pushed Lahore’s PM2.5 air quality index spiked to more than 250, causing illnesses among residents. The World Air Quality Index Project reported a very unhealthy reading of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Lahore, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[5576,5579,1828,105,5578,4956,36,5577,5304],"class_list":["post-9800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-dewali","tag-dewali-causes-smog","tag-environment","tag-geopolitics-2","tag-india-as-a-polution-creator","tag-lahore","tag-pakistan","tag-polusion","tag-smog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9800"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9802,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9800\/revisions\/9802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}