Air pollution, particularly in large urban centres, damages the population’s health and quality of life
World Bank’s recently issued reports say that Pakistan air pollution, particularly in large urban centres is damaging public health and quality of life.
According to report statistics, the air population is causing air quality in the country and has been the reason behind 20,000 premature death in Pakistan.
World Bank’s titled as ‘Cleaning Pakistan’s Air: Policy Options to Address the Cost of Outdoor Air Pollution’ discussed the importance clean air and significant damages to human health and environment.
Pakistan’s urban air pollution is among the most severe in the world and it engenders significant damages to human health and the economy. Air pollution, inadequate water supply, sanitation, and hygiene are the top environmental priority problems in Pakistan.
Generically, air pollution is caused by fuel combustion in various sectors: domestic use, power generation, transport, and industry. The problem is aggravated by meteorological conditions and a combination of population density and urbanization.
The World Bank advocates that Pakistan allocate increased resources to AQM, because evidence shows that its air quality is severely affecting millions of Pakistanis and because experiences around the world indicate that well-targeted interventions can significantly improve air quality.
Other countries such as Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka have adopted a number of measures that have resulted in reduced urban air pollution, Pakistan has yet to follow suit and is paying the costs of increasingly high outdoor air pollution.
It also stated that from 2007 to 2011, the reported levels of particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide and lead were many times higher than the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines.
According to report, the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution exceeded more than 20,000 as compared to other high-profile causes of public health problems.
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.