ISLAMABAD —About 22,000 people are losing their lives to air pollution every year in Pakistan, the Asian Development Bank has said in its report on 'Urban air quality management in Pakistan'.| Interesting; countries full of Lutherans don't seem to have this problem. |
The study sponsored by the World Bank has suggested stopping import and manufacture of two-stroke vehicles, restriction of conversion of petrol-powered engines to diesel engines, better traffic management at high pollution spots and capacity building of motor vehicle examiners.
Another study conducted by Pepa and the Japan International Cooperation Agency found that the average suspended particles in cities were 2,000 micrograms per cubic metres, while PM10 averaged 700 micrograms per cubic metres. The study shows that particulate matter, both PM10 and PM2.5, is responsible for 22,000 premature deaths among adults and 700 deaths among children every year.
The Asian Bank study says the situation is getting bleaker because adequate support and regulatory measures are not in place in Pakistan. Total costs associated with deaths and sickness caused by increased levels of particulate matter amount to Rs65 billion annually or approximately one per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.