A review on the deteriorating situation of smog and its preventive measures in Pakistan

Abstract Urbanization, industrialization, and increasing fossil fuel consumption are the main contributors to poor air quality. Smog is a form of air pollution that is detrimental to environmental quality and is especially impactful in urban and industrial areas. As a well-known air pollution phenomenon, smog is responsible for multiple health effects, including pulmonary, respiratory, and skin diseases. In Lahore, the second-largest city of Pakistan, smog pollution has been a significant socioeconomic issue since 2013 and the situation has been worsening each year. In this systematic review, we discuss the major issues concerning smog in Pakistan: the causes, methods of detection, hazardous effects, and opportunities for preventive measures based on ground-level information. This study identifies smog as a potential source of human health risk as serious repercussions of economic development. It is thus suggested that relevant authorities should establish adequate abatement measures for the protection of public health.