Lahore has been facing smog issues since a while and now Karachi is under the spell as well. Breathing smoggy air can be hazardous because smog contains ozone, a pollutant that can harm our health when there are elevated levels in the air we breathe.
Across many major cities, a hazy brown atmosphere of pollution droops over the skyline, especially in the warmer months. This is smog, known more specifically as ground-level ozone. Smog is formed when industrial emissions from power plants, factories, cars, and other sources react with heat and sunlight in the atmosphere.
Smog is extremely harmful and even healthy people can experience health impacts from polluted air including respiratory irritation or breathing difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities. Your actual risk of adverse effects depends on your current health status, the pollutant type and concentration, and the length of your exposure to the polluted air.
Short-term exposure to particulate pollution can, Aggravate lung disease causing asthma attacks and acute bronchitis. Increase susceptibility to respiratory infections Cause heart attacks and arrhythmias in people with heart disease. Even if you are healthy, you may experience temporary symptoms, such as, Irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, Coughing, Chest tightness and Shortness of breath.
Ozone, when it occurs at ground level, presents a serious air quality problem in many parts of the United States. When inhaled— even at very low levels— ozone can cause a number of respiratory health effects.
