Lahore [Pakistan], November 13 : Veteran Pakistani actress Simi Raheel voiced her outrage over Lahore's deteriorating smog crisis, and criticised the provincial government for its inaction.
The actress posted a story on Instagram and wrote, "Lahore is dying, and no one is doing anything to save it. Not everyone has the option to go to London," in a clear criticism of leaders in Punjab."
Raheel's post aimed at Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, expressing her disappointment with the government's handling of the environmental crisis, the Express Tribune reported.
Notably, thick, toxic smog clouds enveloped Lahore, which has been reeling under severe pollution, is now visible from space as per satellite imagery taken by US space agency NASA, Geo News reported on Tuesday.
Various cities in Pakistan, including major ones like Multan and Islamabad are battling the smog crisis.
Geo News reported that the cities of Lahore and Multan have been blanketed by the dark haze which engulfed streets and blocked buildings from view.
The deteriorating air quality in Pakistan saw the UNICEF issuing a warning that the highly polluted air in Punjab is posing severe risks to people, including more than 11 million children under the age of five, Geo News reported.
It stated that hundreds of people, including dozens of children, have been hospitalised in hard-hit cities, and the pollution is so severe that it is visible from space.
"As smog continues to persist in Punjab province, I am extremely concerned about the well-being of young children who are forced to breathe polluted, toxic air," Pakistan UNICEF representative Abdullah Fadil said in a statement issued in Islamabad.
It is also important to note that the pollution has forced the authorities in Pakistan to close schools and public spaces because the smog threatens the health of tens of millions of people, Geo News noted.
Officials in Lahore have deemed this season as unprecedented even though major South Asian cities suffer from poisonous smog each year.
Experts stated that the severe pollution in Lahore can no longer be dismissed as seasonal, with hazardous smog persisting even in summer months, a sign of "systemic environmental mismanagement."
The crisis stems not just from stubble burning but from uncontrolled vehicular emissions, outdated industrial practices, and ineffective environmental oversight.