Spreading of Smog in Punjab Areas of Pakistan Due to Violation of Environmental Laws

Abstract

Smog is combination of words smoke & fog present in the atmosphere and is considered highly toxic for human’s health and can cause diseases like cancer, asthma, throat, skin diseases & even death. Pakistan is 3^rd in ranking for most premature deaths in the world and a recent study published by the international weekly journal of science ‘Nature’ states that the death rate due to air pollution is about 110,000 per year. Violation of environmental laws, air pollution, IUU urban sprawl and change of climates are the main reasons of smog. Industries, motor vehicles and burning of trash in open air are the major sources to increase in smog. It depletes the ozone layer and susceptibility to ozone injury is influenced by many environmental and plant growth factors. The smog has also become a major reason for road or air accidents. As per WHO reports released on 25 March 2014 at Geneva that only in 2012 around 7 million people died which becomes 1/8^th of total global deaths due to exposure of air pollution. The Pakistan EPA has developed Air Quality Index (AQI) to check the levels of ozone and other pollutants countrywide, such indexes of air pollution are also available to monitor the ozone layer level worldwide.