Fog has also seriously disrupted the residents? mobility as visibility has plunged to as low as 0Km. Photo: Geo News

 

Over the past 24 hours, a number of road accidents occurred due to low visibility, claiming lives of two people and wounding dozens at Kasur.

Traffic continues to be adversely affected due to the weather, especially at the Motorway.

Moreover, a number of international and domestic flights have either been canceled or postponed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport. Flights to Karachi, Muscat and Doha have been canceled.

One dead as smog continues to disrupt daily life in Punjab

Smog has also seriously disrupted the residents? mobility as visibility has plunged to as low as zero from Multan to Khanewal

Meanwhile, a rain system has entered Pakistan. Quetta, Chaman, Noshki and other adjoining areas of Baluchistan have received first rainfall of the winter season.

Pakistan Metrological Department has predicted rain in Karachi, parts of Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa, FATA, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. The environmental experts believe that the rainfall will clear the smog enveloping the cities.

The Punjab government has imposed Section 144 in the province, banning the burning of crops, tyres, and garbage until further notice.

Smog in the provincial capital had crossed all the international benchmarks early this week as the lever of PM 2.5, 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 Organization standards, the daily average level of PM 2.5 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.