How accurate is it that various online applications for air quality analysis have repeatedly declared Karachi's ambient air the most polluted in the world over the past several days? Strangely enough, there is currently no centralized system in the world that can automatically analyze the atmosphere of all the world's cities. Nor is there an agency whose representatives are simultaneously monitoring the air quality of all major cities around the world.
Free Air Index Apps
Take a look at the free applications that every conscious person downloads on
their smartphone and sees a dangerous rating of their city as a polluted city. The outcome is their higher level of anxiety, blood pressure and sugar.
Partiality of Data
The overall air quality data on the Internet is also unreliable because in most of them there is only one parameter of air quality analysis as compare to its total five to six main parameters. These are PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and ozone gas, the amount of which is called air pollution when it exceeds a certain limit.
Air Quality Data of US Consulate
The US Consulate in Karachi also analyze only PM 2.5 parameter, which is no doubt very harmful to health, but it is unwise to overlook rest of the others.
Authorized body to release data
It is also pertinent to note that air quality testing equipment has to be installed with the permission of the local competent authority while according to the available record, no any organization has installed air quality testing equipment in Karachi with the permission of Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), the authorized environmental agency in Sindh. However, some private and government laboratories have such devices, but their use is not full-time. They are used to monitor the air quality when such need arises.
Satellite analysis of air quality
It is also a fact that air quality assessment is not possible through satelite communication nor can be done through any fiber optic technology. In fact, air environment analysis of any major city like Karachi is possible with more than 50 monitoring stations at different spots.
Range of US Consulate Data
The US Consulate's monitoring station in Karachi only analyzes ambient air of in and around Kemari, which can't reflect the air contamination level of the whole city. Furthermore, the average of such data of all areas of the city can not represent its overall position. It should be considered individually from area to area to take different remedial measures for each area.
What is unauthorized data?
Moreover, under the Sindh Environmental Protection Act 2014, SEPA has the authority to release environmental data of any city of Sindh and if any private entity wants to release such data, approval of SEPA is required otherwise in view of such data no action can be taken against air pollution and their transmission or publicity at any level will not be noticeable.
A bid to stimulate demand
It is also not out of the question that some multinational corporations have provided escalated facts and figures to research associations by providing substantial funding to them apparently for raising public awareness but actually to stinulate the demand for air pollution control devices in the global market. Their main purpose of releasing partial statistics is to create worldwide demand for their devices to generate authentic data to refute the existing partial data. However, nothing can be said for sure in this regard.
If Karachi is not most polluted?
Admittedly Karachi is air polluted but it cannot be the most polluted. As we know that the emission of smoke increases as traffic flow is repeatedly affected. Fortunately a plethora of flyovers and underpasses in the city have made most of the highways signal free. So there is no question of disruption in the flow of traffic in normalcy. Secondly, the environmental benefit of the disappearance of public transport is that there has been a significant reduction in the number of diesel vehicles that emit more smoke. Similarly, the use of cars in the middle class has boosted the use of low-emission fuels (CNG), which is within the purchasing power of the middle class.
Air Pollution Control is must
Nevertheless, having mentioned all these points, there is no denying that all relevant organizations shnould work on a priority basis to prevent all forms of pollution so that environmental pollution can be controlled upto an enduring level everywhere around the world.
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