Smog in Lahore: A serious health hazards of present Era

What is smog?

The formation of intense haze situations in the atmosphere due to the mixtures of air pollutants and fog is called smog and smog formation.  

The etymology of smog:

It is derived from two words, i.e., Smoke + Fog (Sm + og), and referred to a condition of air pollution created by the pollutants and fog.

Types of smog:

1. London smog (sulfurous smog):

This type of smog is formed by a high level of sulfur oxides (SOx) in the air.  About ¼ Sulfur oxides are emitted by natural resources while ¾ sulfur is released by human activities. The burning of fossil fuels is the main human source of sulfur. This is also called industrial smog as well as classical smog.   

Mechanism of formation of sulfurous smog:

The sulfurous smog results from the smoke, soot, and sulfur oxides from coal-consuming plants or any other burning of sulfur-containing fossil fuels. When these pollutants react with water, they produce a high level of sulfuric acids droplets and produce haze. This type of smog contains acidic particles, alongside high densities of smoke, and hinder the typical working of the lungs and can cause serious respiratory ailments.

Properties of sulfurous smog:

• Greyish in color
• Related to burning of fossil fuel containing sulfur
• Chiefly contain Sulfuric acids droplets, smoke, vapors.

Regions of sulfurous smog :

• Where high water vapors
• Where emissions of SO_X are very high
• Especially in industrial regions.  

Causes of sulfurous smog :

• Chief causes of this kind of smog are the burning of fossil fuel that contain sulfur.

2. Los Angeles smog (photochemical smog)

Mechanism of formation of photochemical smog:

Photochemical smog principally results from automobiles exhausts. This smog is formed by reactions between nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO₂ + NO₃), ozone and volatile organic compounds, and sunlight.

Properties of photochemical smog:

• Brownish in color
• Related to automobile exhausts
• Chiefly contains water vapors, smoke containing nitric acids and ozone.  

Regions of photochemical smog:

• Where high water vapors
• Where emissions of NO_X are very high
• Especially in overpopulated cities and high concentrate of automobile exhausts.

Causes of photochemical smog:

• Chiefly results from the release of high concentration of NO_X and ozone formation.

Ten main causes of smog production:

1. Burning of the fossil fuel contain sulfur, especially coal.
2. Excessive automobile emissions
3. Large quantities of untreated release of industrial emissions
4. Fires on the large scales that may be natural or anthropogenic
5. Overpopulation and poor managements
6. Poor solid waste managements
7. A recent and more growing cause of the smog is burning of agricultural wastes.
8. Construction of roads, buildings and other activities like that.
9. Natural release of pollutants like volcanoes.
10. Poor land utilization, deforestation and desertification    

Effects of smog:

1. Effects of smog on the atmosphere:
   • Reduce visibility of the air affecting and reshaping overall weather patterns
   • Affect climate change by global warming, because soot in the ozone leads to the double affect than carbon dioxide.
2. Effects of smog on the biodiversity:
   • Decrease in the reproductive rate
   • Extinction of species
3. Effects of smog on the human
   • Increase respiratory disorders like, bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, coughing, sore throat,
   • Increase in oncogenesis (cancers and tumors production)
   • Irritation of eyes, cataract, weakness of the eyesight
   • Low reproductive rates and decrease in fertility
   • Teratogenesis: Abnormal development sometimes leading to abortion.
4. Effects of the ozone on the infrastructure:
   • Erosion of the metallic infrastructure
   • Stone cancers of marble buildings
5. Effects of ozone on the agriculture:
   • Low productivity
   • Low disease resistance in crop

Smog in Lahore:

Lahore is the capital city of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It has a historical background and is also called the city of colleges. It is the largest city in Punjab having an estimated more than 11 million population. Lahore has a high population and a very high rate of automobile exhausts. So currently it is the first largest polluted city in the world (having AQI is about more than 300 sometimes). And the reason behind this position is the level of smog in Lahore. Lahore’s smog level rises day by and day and currently its inhabitant repeatedly check AQI and have ears and eyes on the news relating to smog in Lahore.      

The solution to reduce smog:

1. Reduce the flow in the overpopulated cities so that reduction in the excessive utilization of fossil fuel will be made possible.
2. Elimination of burning of the fossil fuel that contain sulfur, especially coal and trying to find new non-polluted energy resources.
3. Reduction in the excessive use of automobiles and use public transport instead of separate vehicles to lessens the polluted emissions.
4. The industrial waste should be treated before these will be release to the atmosphere. The treatments of industrial emissions should be regulated on the government scales.
5. We should try to make roadmaps in order to make an effective control by the utilization of set of procedure in case of any break of natural fires.
6. Control and management of all the anthropogenic causes that leads to polluted atmosphere of our lovely blue planet. Total control of burning of the agricultural wastes.
7. Human population must be managed and regulated a national level.
8. The development of infrastructure and construction of roads, buildings and other activities like that must be planned and totally will be done on the scientific set of methodologies.
9. Proper land utilization and separation of the industrial plants from the human habitats. These plants must be arranged a large distance away from human societies.
10. The government should run a campaign for large scale plantations and reforestation. Deforestation should be discouraged.

Precautionary measure for smog:

1. Reduce outdoor activities to minimum.
2. Use optical and masks during your outdoor visits.
3. Wash hand and face with freshwater after coming back to home.
4. Drink excess of water and avoid any kind of dehydration.
5. Beware about the activities children at school and should be regularly updated for the smog conditions at you places.
6. Regularly check air quality index.
7. Drive slowly and sensibly and frequently clean your window glass.
8. The patients should avoid to go out in smog.
9. Use fog light on roads during deriving.
10. Avoid any kind of hard activity in smog, so that breathing rate will not be very high.

How to measure smog:

The chief air quality standard is measured in terms of the Air Quality Index (AQI). The value of the air quality index ranges from 0 to 500.