IJCBS, 24 (2023):1-15 Pervaiz and Shirazi, 2023 1 Intervention of Urban Criteria Pollutants in Air Quality: A Satellite Based Analysis of World’s Smog -Induced City Shazia Pervaiz 1 *, Safdar Ali Shirazi 2 1 Environmental Protection Agency, Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan 2 Department of Geography, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Abstract Land use land cover (LULC) change, economic activities and urbanization are the leading reasons to change urban environment and air quality. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to use the satellite data to identify the affected towns by criteria pollutants i.e.PM10, PM2.5 during 2019 and 2021 in Lahore. Results of the study indicate that long term change in LULC is one of the causes to deteriorate the air quality. Stubble burning and metrological factors i.e. low rainfall and high humidity also helped to elevate the level of PM10 and PM2.5. Environmentally, among nine towns of Lahore, Wagah and Aziz Bhatti towns are identified with high concentration of criteria pollutants. Furthermore, high magnitude of PM10 and PM2.5 are evaluated in November as compared to October. In the light of above results, suitable site has been identified using satellite technique to install Smog Tower for the air filtration. Parallel to this, Liquid Trees may be installed near residential areas with the help of Forest Department and Parks and Horticulture Authorities to maintain the air quality of Lahore. Keywords: Air Pollution, Liquid Tree, PM2.5, Smog Tower, Wagah Town Full-length article *Corresponding Author, e-mail:shaziapervaiz@gmail.com 1. Introduction Smog [1] is the form of intense air pollution [2] composed of a mixture of smoke and fog [3]. Incomplete combustion [4] of fossil fuels [5] emit [6] numerous unburnt invisible tiny particles into the ambient air which are the main constituent of particulate matter [7]. The unburnt carbon particles [8] are known as smoke which on combination with humid air gives birth to smog [9]. In addition, meteorological variables support the smog phenomenon such as low rainfall, wind speed and humidity. Mainly, the vehicular and industrial emissions [10] as well as burning of leftovers of the harvested crops especially rice stubble[11] are the major contributing factors in smog formation (Fig. 1). Every year during October and November, the rice crop [12] is harvested in India and Pakistan and the residues of rice crop are burnt at large scale [13]. The fumes of stubble burning produce smoke and transport to other parts of the region which not only deteriorate air but also produces smog [14].Similarly, Lahore is one of the worst-affected cities by smog having high particulate matter pollution owing to suspended dust, vehicular, industrial and stubble burning emissions [15]. Smog pollution [16] is time-dependent [17]and variable in different locations due to the influence of atmospheric factors [18] and criteria pollutants mainly particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5).During winter months [19, 20], particulate matter[21] and atmospheric aerosols [22]accumulate[23] in the boundary layer [24, 25]and presence of high relative humidity [26], low temperature [27] and stable wind speed [28] accelerate the process of smog formation [29, 30]. In addition, land use and land cover (LULC) change increase the quantity of particulate matter [31]. Transformation of LULC, expansion of residential settlements and industrial clusters increase the concentration of particulate matter into the air. Therefore, the present study is conducted to highlight the long-term transformation of LULC over 1992 to 2021with the objective to examine the spatial trend of particulate matterand stubble burning in the nine administrative towns of Lahore by considering the variation in metrological variables such as humidity and rainfall in October and November during 2019 and 2021. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Site description Lahore [32] is 26 th [33] mega [34] city in the world [35, 36] and ranked second largest in Pakistan [37, 38]. It is one of the historic cities of Indian subcontinent [39]. The cultural city [40] is the capital [41] of Province, Punjab [42] and a well-known Mughal city [43] of gardens [44]. It is located in the north-east of Punjab [45] and serves as a commercial hub of trade and higher education. Geo-spatially [46], it lies at 31°15’-31°45’North, 74°01’74°39’ East [47] and consists of nine [48] administrative towns [49] and one military cantonment [50] (Fig. 2). India [51] is its neighboring country [52]located in its east [53]. Climatically [54], Lahore [32, 54] lies in semi-arid zone [55] where weather conditions [56] vary in summer, autumn winter and spring [57]. Summer [37] in Lahore [58] is associated with monsoon season [59] International Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Sciences (ISSN 2226-9614) Journal Home page:www.iscientific.org/Journal.html © International Scientific Organization