‘Air pollution draining $22bn a year from Pakistan’s economy’

Senator Sherry Rehman says smog affecting 11 million children under five in Punjab

ISLAMABAD: Air pollution has been costing Pakistan $22 billion annually, an amount equal to 6.5% of the national gross domestic product (GDP), said Senator Sherry Rehman during a Senate meeting on Thursday.

Chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, the senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader highlighted the severe effects of climate change on the country’s financial and human capital.
“Previous statistics showed 128,000 pollution-related deaths annually, but fresh data places the figure at 256,000 deaths every year,” she said during the meeting. APP