City in Pics

Lahore is, as usual, struggling with another season of severe air pollution. Despite measures by the provincial administration, parts of Lahore remain engulfed in a thick blanket of smog, caused by a combination of vehicle and industrial emissions, smoke from brick kilns, the burning of crop residue, general waste, dust from construction sites and of course large scale cutting of trees to build new roads and buildings. The quality of air in the capital city of Punjab, the largest province of the country, usually worsens between October to February, which is also known as the smog season. Smog results as a consequence of air pollution that reduces visibility. The term “smog” was first used in the early 1900s to describe a mix of smoke and fog. Smog was common in industrial areas, and remains a familiar sight in some cities today. Today, most of the smog we see is photochemical smog.