NED holds workshop on global warming

KARACHI  - The NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi organised a workshop on air quality and global warming.
According to the Chairman of NED’s Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering, Prof. Dr. Mir Shabbar Ali, the moot was held at a local hotel.
The speakers pointed out that the increased urbanisation and a growing number of vehicles on the country’s roads are causing extensive damage to the environment. They were of the view that the situation is getting bleaker because adequate support and regulatory measures are not in place.
The Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (PEPA) Director-General Asif Shuja Khan was quoted as saying that vehicles were responsible for 45 per cent of environmental pollution.
 The country’s vehicle fleet has been growing at an annual rate of almost 15 per cent with two-stroke rickshaws, motorcycles and diesel vehicles growing at a rapid rate.
It was estimated that there are some six million vehicles on the roads in the country, of which less than a million are on CNG, while most of the others use inferior quality fuels.
Industrial emissions are also an area of concern because of the use of ‘dirty fuel’ by several concerns. The burning of municipal solid waste is another significant source of pollution in the urban areas.
Almost 48,000 tons of solid waste is generated each day, most of which is either dumped in low-lying areas or burnt. The burning of solid waste at low temperatures not only generates particulate matter but also produces other carcinogenic pollutants.