Karachi is facing a serious public-health emergency this winter as hospitals report a sharp increase in respiratory infections linked to worsening air quality.
Health specialists say relaxed enforcement of environmental rules and uncontrolled emissions have pushed pollution to dangerous levels, putting millions at risk, according to Dawn. Pulmonologists, internal-medicine physicians and ENT doctors warn that air pollution has become a major driver of lung disease across the city.
Javaid Ahmed Khan, a senior pulmonologist at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), said the city has seen a marked rise in influenza and related respiratory illnesses this season. He noted many routine flu cases are progressing to acute bronchitis and pneumonia, especially in vulnerable patients.
Khan also described a worrying long-term trend: interstitial lung disease (ILD) has climbed steeply over the past two decades. Whereas ILD was rare in the 1990s, AKUH now sees roughly 100 such patients each week, a rise he attributes to toxic air exposure. An AKUH study published in Atmospheric Pollution Research found that short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increases hospital admissions for respiratory problems by 30–40%.
Senior ENT specialist Qaiser Sajjad reported a marked uptick in upper respiratory infections that is exacerbated by colder weather and urged authorities to treat air pollution as a public-health emergency. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro added that tuberculosis cases have risen as poor air quality undermines lung defenses.
The Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) 2024 report documents Karachi’s decline: an average PM2.5 concentration of 46.2 µg/m³ — roughly nine times the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limit and about three times Pakistan’s national standard. The report highlights continued failures to install adequate monitoring and to control emissions.
Experts are calling for immediate government action: stricter controls on vehicle and industrial emissions, better waste management, and expanded tree planting, among other measures, to prevent the crisis from worsening.
This account is based on reporting by Dawn and a syndicated feed from ANI; the original publishers are responsible for the source material’s accuracy and completeness.
