IANS. A study carried out by the environment ministry in Pakistan has found that the air quality in six major Pakistani cities is deteriorating rapidly. The number of vehicles in those cities has  increased by some 300 percent in five years.

Air pollution in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Rawalpindi has reached serious proportions because of growing levels of CO₂ and SO₂, and greater concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and total suspended particulate matter (TSP).

In Islamabad alone, the number of registered vehicles in 1998 was just 60,000 whereas in March 2005, the number of vehicles was 340,000, an official of the vehicle registration authority told IANS.

He said the number did not include the vehicles plying in Islamabad but only those registered. Almost similar is the situation in other major cities of the country.

The second reason is the increase of population in these cities, mostly due to migration from rural areas.

The five cities hold between 25 and 30 million inhabitants.

The study suggests a phase-out of gasoline, checks on old vehicles entering urban limits, greater use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and an improved road network in all the six cities to ease traffic congestion.