Indus Vitals

ST File photo Private sector experts call for clean-air investment as SEPA vows renewed monitoring and transparency By Mukhtar Alam KARACHI: With Karachi’s air quality deteriorating sharply, experts and officials alike are urging coordinated action, reliable data, and lasting investment in clean-air measures. They caution that pollution can no longer be treated solely as an environmental problem — it has grown into a major public health and economic threat for the city. Echoing the growing alarm among environmental professionals, M Jibran Khalid Kidwai, Chief Executive Officer of Management Environmental and Social Solutions Ltd., describes Karachi’s air-quality crisis as “extremely urgent.” He warns that particulate matter levels have repeatedly crossed hazardous thresholds in recent years, placing Pakistan among the countries with the highest urban pollution burdens. “As the nation’s largest economic hub, Karachi not only suffers from this exposure but also amplifies its natio...

Experts call for real-time monitoring , open data, and public accountability to combat Karachi’s toxic air By Mukhtar Alam KARACHI: As Karachi’s residents grapple with worsening air quality, environmental experts are warning that without transparent monitoring, credible data, and coordinated governance, efforts to improve the city’s air will remain cosmetic. They describe the situation as a “public health emergency hidden in plain sight,” demanding science-led action and accountability. Senior consultant ecologist Rafiul Haq calls Karachi’s air-quality crisis “off the charts.” For him, this is no distant threat but a rapidly escalating emergency that undermines health, productivity, and quality of life. “Delay now means paying a far higher price later, in both lives and livelihoods,” he cautions, stressing the need for immediate and bold reforms — including tighter vehicle emission standards, strict industrial compliance, expansion of public transport, development of green buff...

Pulmonologists link rising respiratory cases to unchecked emissions and neglected monitoring By Mukhtar Alam KARACHI: While Karachi’s residents continue to breathe polluted air, medical experts warn that the health effects are showing up sharply across hospitals — with lung and allergy clinics reporting growing numbers of patients suffering from chronic respiratory illnesses and pollution-induced complications. According to senior pulmonologist Dr Sohail Akhter, the connection between respiratory disease and poor air quality is “an age-old understanding.” Asthma, respiratory infections, and other respiratory diseases spike in winters and during dry weather. “It is the experience of most pulmonologists; similarly, a surge of asthma admissions is seen in Islamabad in spring, coinciding with raised pollen count,” he notes. He emphasises that the trend is not merely anecdotal. “Cases certainly increase during smog, winter months, and dust storms — this has been documented,” he exp...

Experts warn Karachi’s worsening air is turning into a public-health emergency as citizens breathe toxic air daily By Mukhtar Alam KARACHI: The worsening air quality of Sindh’s capital Karachi continues to draw concern from citizens and experts alike, while government watchdogs appear largely rudderless — aware of the environmental decline yet short on the evidence, monitoring systems, and coordinated policies needed to curb it. Health and environment experts interviewed by this scribe converged on the need to address Karachi’s rising air pollution through scientific approaches, developing evidence-based policies and emergency action plans to steer the metropolis toward sustainable development and environmental resilience — a healthier, more prosperous city for its residents. There is also a prevailing public perception that Karachi currently lacks foolproof and effective mechanisms to counter environmental hazards due to prolonged governmental neglect. The city, citizens main...