Air pollution in Pakistan causing more than 20,000 premature deaths: report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s urban air pollution situation is causing more than 20,000 premature deaths among adults each year, reported by The Express Tribune. 

According to a World Bank’s report titled, ‘Cleaning Pakistan’s Air: Policy Options to Address the Cost of Outdoor Air Pollution’, “Pakistan is [one of] the most urbanised countries in South Asia, and it is undergoing rapid motorisation and increasing energy use… Air pollution, particularly in large urban centres, damages the population’s health and quality of life and contributes to environmental degradation.”

The World Bank report also mentions that while countries like Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka have adopted a number of measures that have helped in reducing urban air pollution, Pakistan has yet to come up with a viable solution for the betterment of the overall air pollution.

According to the WB report, the levels of PM, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and lead (Pb) were many times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines.