Air pollution from industrial emissions and its control in Pakistan: current situation, challenges, and way forward

Abstract

Own to its negative effect on the global ecosystem, air pollution has been a growing concern. Developed world had taken it on top priority long before, now they breathe the air of much better quality. Contrarily, air pollution was not on the priority list of developing worlds. Consequently, air pollution in regions such as South Asia is 5–9 times higher than in the developed world and the world’s topmost polluted cities lie in South Asian countries including Pakistan. Now, due to the apparent and widespread, effects and pressure from the local and global community, Pakistan has started taking the air pollution problem more seriously. The governments have taken multiple initiatives concerning monitoring and control of air pollution from industries. However, due to several challenges, the implementation is slow. To increase the pace of air pollution management in the country it is imperative to explore the underlying factors. This chapter synthesizes the available knowledge on the status of air pollution from industrial sources, its control, treatment technologies, and factors slowing the air pollution control and then in the light of this knowledge, provides suggestions to improve the pollution management problem in the country.