School carpooling urged to curb smog

The Punjab government has advised schools to promote carpooling among students, parents and staff to help prevent smog caused by emissions. Environment Director General Abdullah Nair Sheikh directed school administrations to facilitate shared transport arrangements for students travelling from the same areas or along common routes. According to the DG, traffic congestion around schools during morning hours, vehicular emissions and slow-moving traffic contribute to higher levels of particulate pollution. He said reducing the number of vehicles making unnecessary trips was essential. He called on school administrations, parents and students to play their role in anti-smog efforts, while stressing that carpooling should not impose any additional financial burden on parents or students. Recommendations for effective carpooling arrangements have been forwarded to the school education department. According to the environment protection department's air quality dashboard, winds in Lahore were blowing from the southeast at five kilometres per hour on Monday morning, while the city's Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 170. During the last 24 hours, 21 industrial units were inspected across Punjab. Four were sealed, two cases were registered and fines totalling Rs300,000 were imposed for environmental violations. Officials said 70 brick kilns were also inspected and one of them was sealed and a fine of Rs100,000 imposed. In addition, 18 kilogrammes of plastic was confiscated. water was sprinkled over 1,006 kilometres of roads across the province. Authorities also issued 301 warnings and notices against burning of solid waste, tyres, rubber and plastic. Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said anti-smog measures were not being treated as a temporary campaign but as part of a comprehensive effort to bring long-term environmental improvement. She said providing farmers alternatives to crop-residue burning remained a government priority. The air quality in the metropolis remained unhealthy, the overall AQI recorded at 193 at 9:00am and rising to 197 by 7:00pm, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's real-time monitoring data. Wagah Border remained the most polluted area of Lahore in the evening, recording an AQI of 391, classified as very unhealthy. Multan Road recorded an AQI of 258, while Barki Road recorded 198 at 7:00pm. According to IQAir's real-time data, Lahore had an AQI of 167 at 8:00pm, with particulate matter ratio PM2.5 recorded at 78 micrograms per cubic metre. At the time, Lahore ranked 10th in Pakistan in IQAir's real-time city ranking. On the other hand, authorities cautioned farmers to refrain from burning rice crop stubble after harvesting, as the practice not only affects soil fertility but also has adverse effects on the environment and health. A spokesperson said burning crop residue increased air pollution and respiratory diseases. He advised farmers to incorporate the residues into the soil instead of burning them, saying the practice increases organic matter and improves soil fertility for the next crop. With additional input from APP