Rain expected in Punjab, KP, likely to clear smog

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GEO NEWS
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A man rides a motorbike as smog surrounds Minar-e-Pakistan in the background in Lahore. Photo: AP

Dense smog persisted in parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Saturday morning, however, the sky is likely to be cleared as the met department has forecast rain in both the provinces.

According to the meteorological department, rainfall with thunder is expected Sunday night in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Islamabad and upper Punjab. The downpour is expected to clear the sky of smog that has affected visibility in many areas of the country, especially Punjab, causing a number of accidents.

Moreover, the thick layers of smog in the atmosphere caused power lines to trip. The Punjab government also announced to push forward school timings in order to ensure children do not have to travel to school at an hour when air is most dense.

Smog in Lahore has crossed all the international benchmarks as PM2.5 level, which is termed the most dangerous pollutant in the air across the world, remained between 450ug/m3 and 500ug/m3 against the notified standards of 35ug/m3 per day.

As per World Health Organisation standards, the daily average level of PM2.5 should not be more than 10ug/m3 and aggregated annual mean 25ug/m3 in a day whereas as per a gazette notification of the Punjab government, the daily limit of PM2.5 is 15ug/m3 and aggregated annual mean 35ug/m3 per day.

It is pertinent to mention that Environmental Protection Department was concealing data about air quality and pollutants present in it whereas the above-mentioned scary data was revealed by air monitoring laboratories established by the private sector.