Punjab pollution board chief blames it on easterly winds

Chandigarh : Not smugglers, anti-socials or effluents from tanneries. Pakistan is complaining of thick smog from across the border. Quoting experts, Pakistan media claims that smog originating from India has engulfed Pakistan’s cities, especially Lahore. Large-scale burning (estimated at 3,500 fields per day) of paddy residual has left Pakistan residents gasping for breath, their reports claim.Kahan Singh Pannu, Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board, blames it on easterly winds.
“Smog has travelled towards Pakistan because of westerly winds moving at a velocity of 7 to 8 km per hour. The smog, starting from Uttar Pradesh, has travelled to Punjab and then moved further into west. The wind velocity has so far been low.”
As per the reports in the Pakistan media, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lahore was 357 whereas the “tolerable” limit was 100. Experts in Pakistan fear more smog as the AQI in India is expected to cross 500 in days to come, if the practice of stubble-burning is not halted. Compared to Lahore, the AQI in Ludhiana has been recorded at 334, in Amritsar at 307 and Mandi Gobindgarh 187.