Peshawar (Nadir Khan): In response to the prolonged dry spell and increasing air pollution, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is urged to consider cloud seeding and artificial rain mechanisms for Peshawar city. These measures aim to tackle pollution and mitigate respiratory diseases.
Cloud seeding, a weather modification technique that injects tiny particles, usually silver iodide crystals, into clouds to encourage the formation of ice crystals, potentially increases rainfall or snowfall by enhancing the cloud’s natural ability to produce precipitation.
The Punjab government recently conducted a successful cloud seeding operation using locally developed technology, resulting in artificial rainfall. The Provincial Meteorological Department confirmed rainfall in Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Chakwal, and Talagang, attributing it to this effort. Experts are optimistic that cloud seeding could also alleviate Lahore’s severe smog.
The project involved specialists from Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Army Aviation, PARCO (Pakistan Arab Refining Company), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Punjab government. However, Director General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa EPA, Samiullah Khan, was unavailable for comment on this pressing issue.
Research indicates that the air quality in Peshawar should be around 25 milligrams per cubic meter, as per WHO standards. Due to inadequate rainfall, particles of dirt and dust accumulate in the air, significantly contributing to environmental and air pollution. Recent studies reveal that pollution levels in Peshawar are almost four times higher than WHO standards, necessitating urgent measures to control it.
Emissions from the transport sector contribute 58.5% of overall pollution in Peshawar, with other sources including roadside dust (17.7%), domestic burning (11.7%), industry (6.6%), waste burning (4.10%), and commercial burning (1.4%).
Health expert Dr. Nizam-ud-Din highlights that air pollution severely affects the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, causing strokes, asthma, and cancers, and killing thousands of people, mostly children, every year worldwide. In Pakistan, pollution-induced diseases claim approximately 3.23 million lives per year.
To improve air quality, there is a dire need for cloud seeding and artificial rain systems, as Peshawar has not experienced heavy rains in the past year. However, experts should be consulted to assess potential disadvantages, such as flooding in urban areas.
Additional measures include establishing motor vehicle emission standards, setting up tune-up stations for vehicles, promoting the use of LPG and biofuel, implementing industrial emission standards, and regularly checking the quality of fuel and lubricating oils sold in the market.
The health department is also being technically assisted in the disposal of thousands of tons of solid waste produced by hospitals. Hayatabad Medical Complex, Khyber Teaching Hospital, and Shaukat Khan Memorial Hospital Peshawar are equipped with incinerators that operate at 1200 degrees centigrade to destroy waste efficiently without adverse effects.