At least 128000 deaths are reported in Pakistan every year as a result of air pollution and related sicknesses, a non-government body working to mitigate the impact of climate change, on the eve of World Clean Air Day. There is a need to change the business model in Pakistan and elsewhere to ensure that business operations exercise responsibility, especially in the financial sector to ensure net zero carbon footprints protect human life and the planet’s ecology.

The World Air Day Quality Index 2021 ranked Pakistan as the third most polluted country in the world, and its major cities, particularly Lahore, are regularly listed among the most toxic cities in the world. As one of the countries on the frontline of the climate crisis, Pakistan faces grave consequences in failing to address climate change which has resulted in frequent adverse weather events such as extreme temperatures droughts and flooding.

According to the World Health Organisation, 99 percent of the world’s population is now breathing polluted air. Seven million people die each year due to air pollution, with 90 percent of them residing in low and middle-income countries.

Finally, I request to the world be together to take big action.

MUHAMMAD AMIN,

Kech.