Air pollution assessment in urban areas and its impact on human health in the city of Quetta, Pakistan

Abstract

Nowadays, air over major cities throughout the world has become overburdened with gases produced by automobiles. The death rate due to automobile pollution is increasing rapidly in the metropolitan areas. With passage of time, people realized that polluted air has serious effects on their health, climate and economics. Weather and climate have integrated impact on human activities resulting in worldwide concentration of the particulates of environmental pollution, viz., chlorofluorocarbons, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, lead and several other dust and gaseous particles. Like many other mega cities in the world the ambient air quality of Quetta, Pakistan is also deteriorating nowadays. Automobile exhausts and certain industrial pollutants produce O3 by photochemical reactions. The particulate matter, particularly less than 10 μm in size, can pass through the natural protective mechanism of human respiratory system and plays an important role in genesis and augmentation of allergic disorders. Sources of air pollution in the area and the unique problem arising out of the emission from the vehicles, industries, etc. have been described. Ambient air quality was monitored along with micrometeorological data and the results are discussed. The status of air pollution in the area has been evaluated and a questionnaire survey was conducted to estimate the allergic symptoms and exposure to assess the respiratory disorders. The data are analyzed to evaluate the critical situation arising out of the emission of air pollutants and the impact on human health due to respirable diseases (RDs) in middle class sub-population (activity-wise) in the area assessed. A strategic air quality management plan has been proposed. For the mitigation of air pollution problems in the city, different measures to be adopted to maintain the balance between sustainable development and environmental management have been discussed. Air pollution has significant effects on exacerbation of asthma, allergy and other respiratory diseases.