Karachi’s Polluted Air Kills 2,000 People Every Year, Study Reveals

Mahnoor Tariq

A recent study provides insight into how Karachi citizens’ health is being impacted by high nitric oxide concentration in its air.

The study:

The study, involving researchers from Karachi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United States was published in January by Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

The samples:

The nine-person crew collected 400 air samples over the course of one year. Using an approach called ion chromatography, they quantified levels of four major air pollutants. This included nitric oxide as well. The crew discovered that Karachi has some of the highest nitric oxide levels ever measured.

The death estimate:

Researchers were able to calculate how many deaths in Karachi are caused by air pollution. According to their findings from the four pollutants they studied, at least 2,000 people in Karachi die every year.

One of the authors of this paper is Professor Zafar Fatmia is an environmental health expert from Aga Khan University. Aaj News quoted his email as, “Air pollution is not only gases but a key component is particulate matter.”