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Pakistan's Punjab establishes 'smog war room' to fight harmful air

Pakistan's Punjab established a. smog war space to tackle extreme contamination, authorities stated, as. bad air quality in Lahore pressed the capital of the eastern. province to the top of the rankings as the world's most contaminated. city.

Live rankings by Swiss group IQAir offered the city a contamination. index rating of 1165, followed by the Indian capital of New. Delhi, with 299.

The war space committee will evaluate weather and air quality. forecasts ... daily and monitor the efficiency and actions of. field officers, said Sajid Bashir, a representative for the. province's environment department.

Officials informed Reuters it unites staff from eight. departments, with a single person charged with supervising tasks. from managing burning of farm waste to handling traffic.

Two times day-to-day sessions will analyse information and forecasts to. short stakeholders on efforts to combat pollution, and problem. daily advisories, they added.

But Wednesday's index score for Lahore fell short of last. week's extraordinary score of 1900, which had gone beyond. suggested levels by more than 120 times, triggering closure of. main schools and orders to work from home.

At the time, Punjab's senior minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb,. blamed the poisonous air on pollution wandering across the border. with India just 25 km (16 miles) away. Northern locations of the. neighbouring country are likewise battling extreme pollution.

The Punjab federal government would ask Pakistan's foreign workplace to. take up the matter with India's foreign ministry, she informed the. Indian Express paper in an interview published on Wednesday.

South Asia is shrouded in intense pollution every winter season as. cold air traps emissions, dust, and smoke from farm fires, while. contamination could cut more than five years from people's life. expectancy in the region, a research study discovered in 2015.

On Tuesday the environment minister of New Delhi, ranked the. world's most contaminated capital for 4 successive years by. IQAir, said officials were seeking to artificial rain to fight. the issue this year.

(source: Reuters)