Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city is the provincial capital of Punjab. It is on the Ravi River, a tributary of the Indus, and is located 811 miles (1,305 km) northeast of Karachi in the upper Indus plain. Due to its numerous parks and gardens, it is also known as the “City of Gardens. The vibrant atmosphere and rich culture of this city are well-known.
Lahore which was once full of life and greenery has become completely changed now. Ring-necked parakeets are scarce in the city, and the number of fruit trees like mulberry, guava, and mango are declining. Lahore, honestly, has become a concrete jungle and a city of smog and dust. Environmental concerns are ignored in development projects, bridges, flyovers, and brand-new housing societies which are popping up everywhere.
The director-general of the World-Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan), Hammad Naqi Khan, asserts that “Lahore is going through a severe environmental crisis”. He asserts that a densely populated urban city like Lahore cannot withstand rapid and unsustainable development, which puts enormous strain on the city’s natural resources and causes problems with water, pollution, and temperature shifts.
There are many reasons why Lahore has become a City of Smog and Concrete over these years. Some of them are as under;
Unendurable development:
The city has seen an increase in development projects, but most of them are carried out without taking environmental concerns into account.
The underpass on Jail Road is an example of such construction. A consulting engineer from the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) admitted during a public hearing that the underpass should be demolished because it was poorly designed and to rebuild a new underpass based on rules and regulations. He suggested that the project’s chief engineer should be punished for allowing construction to proceed in the wrong direction and wasting government’s millions of rupees.
Housing projects are now a necessity as population of Lahore grows by the day. However, these extravagant construction plans reduce the amount of land that could be utilized for tree planting. The loophole is widely exploited by land developers because there is no law that prevents the conversion of prime agricultural lands for housing or commercial purposes. Yet again one should not overlook the way that while spontaneous lodging plans are built, the expense of building streets and other foundation is unloaded on the public authority’s shoulders.
Medical professionals have also stated that an increase in the number of concrete structures raises the temperature, which in turn causes pedestrians and motorcyclists to suffer from sunstroke during the summer. Gulab Devi Chest Hospital’s senior medical officer is Dr. Farzana Anees said that: “Because there isn’t as much shade in the city, we have seen a lot of cases of sunstroke and dehydration in June and July”.
Lack of Green Areas:
Only 3% of Lahore’s land is green, and it is constantly paved over to make room for roads and buildings. According to Senior landscape designer and environmental activist Ejaz Nazim, “Our government gives urban green spaces the lowest priority”. The international standard calls for at least 25% to 30% green open space in urban areas; cities like Berlin have up to 45% urban forest cover.
The city’s unpaved green belts are also included in the category of green areas and are very important to the environment. They aid in the drainage of storm water and serve as recharge zones for the replenishment of groundwater. Groundwater recharge is impacted and experiencing a sharp decline now that the majority of green belts have been converted to concrete. This may not be a big deal for people who live in cities and drive air-conditioned cars, but it is a big deal for people who aren’t as fortunate, like cyclists, vendors, and pedestrians.
Some delicate trees are planted to reduce the negative effects of air pollution while others are planted to monitor air pollution levels in urban areas. Therefore, it is essential to plant trees with awareness of their function. The establishment of green areas can improve a city’s microclimate and reduce its average temperature by absorbing a significant amount of heat from the air and can also help in reduction of smog by filtering air as trees brings rains.
Cutting of trees:
Both Lahore’s scenic beauty and the city’s carbon sink, which is a natural or artificial reservoir that aids in the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, are impacted by the cutting down of trees to widen roads and the construction of buildings and factories. The recently built Orange Line Train lead to the destruction of million trees in the city.
An important note is that what is left of the green belts is being transformed into a display of exotic plant species that lack foliage, biodiversity, and shade, rather than planting additional trees to replace the existing ones. In addition, they need more pruning and watering attention, which adds to the strain on the provincial budget.
Reports show that numerous species, including feral cats, small Indian mongooses, Indian monitor lizards, butterflies, fireflies, grey hornbills, yellow-footed green pigeons, white breasted kingfishers, and purple sunbirds, have lost their habitat as a result of the reduction in tree cover around the Canal.
Air Pollution:
Vehicle and industrial emissions, smoke from brick kilns, crop residue and general waste burning, and construction site dust all contribute to Lahore’s air pollution. Different variables of air contamination incorporate enormous scope misfortunes of trees to fabricate new streets and structures.
Temperature inversion, which prevents warm air from rising and trapping pollutants in the air, makes air pollution even worse in winters.
Lahore consistently tops IQAir AirVisual’s live pollution rankings of major global cities due to its high levels of air pollution. The winter months of October through February typically see an increase in air pollution. During this time, farmers in the wider Punjab province burn the remains of their crops, releasing smoke that contributes to smog. Changes in the weather also make it longer for pollutants to stay in the air. In the 2018 World Air Quality Report from IQAir AirVisual, Lahore came in at number 10.
Poor Management of Water Resources:
Rainwater and the River Ravi replenish Lahore’s groundwater, but the river is already contaminated with industrial and municipal waste, contaminating the underground water table. A report by WWF-Pakistan points out the poor management of water resources in Lahore. It suggests that Lahoris should adopt more eco-friendly water consumption habits and promote rainwater harvesting which is a method that is unknown in Pakistan but is utilized in several nations to conserve rainwater and reap its benefits.
Rainwater has the potential to raise the city’s water table, but the majority of it is wasted. It typically recharges the aquifer by seeping through vegetation and unpaved areas. But because of decline in green zones and increase in substantial designs the water gets wasted instead of streaming in the vegetative channels.
According to a report, water samples taken from some areas of Lahore, contains twice the WHO-recommended minimum level of arsenic. The water that is provided to these areas is provided by the government, and it appears to also contain human waste. As a result, not everyone in Lahore has access to clean drinking water which is a fundamental human right. Due to the presence of harmful pollutants like lead and arsenic, medical professionals advise not to drink tap water.
A desegregated approach:
When it comes to protecting the environment, our government has become brutal and careless. Our ecosystem is becoming weaker as more trees fall, more cars release carbon into the atmosphere, and species lose the fight to maintain diversity. We are also to blame if heat waves, smog, decreasing water levels, and urban flooding harm us.
We need to decide if we want to preserve the environment and live a healthy life that includes eating healthy food, drinking clean water, and breathing clean air; or if we want to keep causing it harm. Urban communities and metropolitan spaces are focuses of advancement challenges — they could set out new open doors, however specialists say the fight against monetary breakdown, environmental change, destitution and wellbeing will either be won or lost in urban communities.
We need to actively switch to greener fuel options, carpool, use public transportation, and more in their daily lives to reduce personal emissions in order to reduce smog and air pollution.
