By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Dense fog blanketing the capital city, like other parts of the country, has sparked traveling chaos for the commuters during the morning and night hours through reducing visibility along with causing health hazards for the vulnerable groups since the last many days.
The unusual dense foggy conditions prevailing in the capital ascribed by the weather experts to absence of rain during this Winter season due to climatic changes have not only disrupted the road travels but flight operations too in the fog bearing areas of the country.
The persistent fog/smog due to the insignificant rain during this Winter season have caused diseases among the citizens especially old people and children with low immunity level.
According to the health experts, the major sufferers of the seasonal diseases especially influenza, cough and fever are the children and old ones due to their weak immune system while the number of pneumonia cases among the children has also witnessed surge during this month.
The health experts have suggested taking those diets which can boost their immunity to fight with seasonal diseases, revert to organic foods and handle such issues with home remedies. Those with serious conditions especially continuous fever must contact the health providers immediately.
“While living in the federal capital for the last 20 years, dense foggy conditions with reduced visibility level are unusual for me. Even I could see the visible fog these days at day time also”, Maimoona Ali, a mother of three children who daily travel from Rawalpindi to Islamabad to attend her office.
“My children have suffered from prolonged sickness including influenza, cough and high fever twice during this months. The doctor was of the view that the virus has mutated into a dangerous one this Winter due to lack of rain so there is need to boost immunity of children by giving them organic food and using green tea with honey and ginger”, she said.
Murad Khan, a father of two school going kids, said, “I was travelling from G-9/4 to F-7/1 in the morning around 7:45 am to drop my kids to the school and hardly saved from an accident due to zero visibility”.
“I couldn’t see the car infront of me due to the dense foggy conditions which is very risky and unsafe”, he said while urging the concerned authorities to change the timings of schools during the dense foggy conditions. Keeping in view the health issues, majority of the parents have demanded of the concerned authorities to announce relaxation in the timings of the educational institutions during the morning hours to save them from any untoward situation.
Showing her concern, a mother of three school going children, Naheed Raza said, “If the dense foggy situation persists in the coming days, the authorities must consider changing the timings of schools for small kids to save them from fog/smog and chilly weather effects”.
She said that the chilly weather due to dipping mercury has made it difficult for the kids to go to schools while the risk of catching virus from other affected children in schools also looms even if they are healthy.
According to the weather experts, dense fog is likely to continue in Islamabad, plain areas of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh during next few days.
The day temperatures are likely to remain below normal in most parts of Punjab due to dense fog. The exposure to the foggy environment can cause health issues among the citizens therefore they are advised to be cautious.
The Flights, Railways and Highways/Motorways operations are also facing disruption during the foggy conditions. The travelers have been advised to remain cautious during the foggy days due to the reduced visibility level and avoid unnecessary travelling during the morning and night hours.
