CLIMATE CHANGE and its devastating effects are evident in developing countries. There are many emerging issues related to climate change, but a very little attention seems to have been given on its impact on metals and the polluting environment. The change in environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation and salinity will unavoidably affect the toxicity, characteristics, behavior and distribution of trace metals. Increase or decrease of any climate change parameter would cause a change in their volatility. The countries which have an agriculture-dependent economy like Pakistan would be more severely affected, due to mostly poor rural population, lack of resources, and less technical knowledge and awareness.


Lead is one of the oldest and commonly known environmental pollutants. Lead poisoning was among the first known and most widely studied work and environmental hazards, which is reported to cause damage in multiple body systems in living organism.


Lead is found in earth crust, it is a natural occurring poisonous metal. Lead can also be found at many places due to human activity; through burning fossil fuels, manufacturing, and mining. Lead can harm to living organism i.e. human, animal, and plant; particularly to children under the age of six. Lead exposure makes childrens brain much vulnerable, affected child will less able to learn in studies and make them more likely to display aggression, anti-social and manic behaviors. Lead not only affects health but particularly damaging to the neurological development of the child. Lead build up in the body over time and make it sicker and sicker, since the effect of lead poisoning is slow it wont kill immediately.


Routes of lead exposures are so many the most common routes are contaminated water, air, soil, and food. Lead poisoning travels through one route to other as well. Some consumer products contribute to lead exposure. Occupational exposure is a major cause of lead poisoning in an adult. Lead is a small particulate natural element, absorbed from the air through lungs, ingested in water and food, and a certain amount is accumulated in bones and soft tissues. Lead is a toxic element and its levels in any body fluid should be zero, which is not possible in an industrial society.


Air pollution is one of the most common sources of lead poisoning. The air quality of thickly populated and industrial cities of Pakistan have the higher level of lead and other trace metal contamination that pose a great risk to public health. The cities like Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, Peshawar, and Quetta, most likely possess a high level of lead contamination then respective populated other developing cities. The main source of this atmospheric lead is the combustion in vehicles of fuel containing the antiknock additive.


A previous study about traffic police constables working at different traffic zones in Karachi and Islamabad, who are regularly exposed to vehicle exhaust fumes had alarmingly higher blood lead levels (above the safety limits) as compared to common men. Another study to find the effects of traffic and pollution through lead, cadmium, copper and zinc in environmental samples (soil sludge, sediment, and grass) reported that concentration of zinc, copper and cadmium did not increase significantly, but level of lead increased many times, which showed that traffic caused lead pollution. The combined effect of lead pollution through traffic and climate change is worsening the situation. Studies revealed that soot from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (petrol, coal etc.), and black carbon is the most potential element to trigger climate warming. Fossil or biofuel soot may cause sixteen percent of gross global warming. As small as 10 parts per billion soot particles in snow allows it to melt more rapidly due to more solar radiation absorption. It is noted that since pre-industrial time black carbon has caused about thirty percent of Arctic warming.


Global warming, due to climate change, will keep continuing to spread its adverse effects on a living organism which are already exposed to excessive lead levels. Lead exposure will be increased during floods, drought, cyclones, wildfires, heat waves, and several other natural or manmade catastrophes, which are becoming more severe and frequent day by day as a result of climate change. Climate change grabs more headlines than lead contamination, whereas the heavy metal actually causes a more impendent environmental health threat.

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