North Korea launches barrage of ballistic missiles on eve of US polls
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea just hours before the US presidential election in an apparent show of power amid concerns over Pyongyang sending thousands of its troops to fight the Russian war in Europe.
Pyongyang fired at least seven missiles off its east coast, its neighbours said as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un‘s sister condemned joint military drills involving the US, Japan and South Korea.
The missiles flew to an altitude of 100km and covered a range of 400km before falling outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone into the ocean, according to Japan’s defence minister Gen Nakatani. South Korea said the missiles were fired at around 7am (local time) on Tuesday from the vicinity of Sariwon in North Hwanghae Province.
The US military said it was monitoring the situation and consulting closely with its allies Japan and South Korea.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of Mr Kim, said military drills by US and its allies justify North Korea’s nuclear reinforcement, state media KCNA said. Ms Kim criticised the “more than 20” military drills the US and its allies have conducted this year.
The launch comes just days after Pyongyang test launched its biggest intercontinental missile which flew at a record distance and with capabilities of reaching mainland US. The Hwasong-19 launch triggered severe condemnation from the UN, Washington and its allies amid fears of Pyongyang receiving missile technology as a reward for sending its troops to Russia.
South Korean officials said the North was likely to dial up its military displays around the US presidential election to command the attention of Washington. The South’s spy agency warned last week that Pyongyang has likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.
North Korea’s UN envoy claimed the Hermit Kingdom would accelerate the buildup of its nuclear weapons programme to “counter any threat presented by hostile nuclear weapons states”.
The North was sanctioned by the UN security council in 2006 and the measures were steadily strengthened to halt its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the recent tests by North Korea have political significance for what they say about the Kim regime’s lack of restraint. “Pyongyang is showing that its contribution of weapons and troops to Russia’s war in Ukraine does not curtail its military activities closer to home.”
He added: “On the contrary, cooperation with Moscow appears to enable blatant violations of UN Security Council resolutions.”
It is largely viewed that North Korea eventually hopes to use an expanded nuclear arsenal as leverage to win concessions such as sanctions relief after a new US president is elected.
There are widespread views that Mr Kim would prefer a win by Republican candidate Donald Trump, with whom he engaged in high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018-19, seeing him as a more likely counterpart to give him what he wants than Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
During campaigning, Ms Harris said she won’t “cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump”.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that as many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers were in Russia’s Kursk region near Ukraine’s border and were preparing to join Moscow’s fight against Ukraine in the coming days.
If they engage in combat, it would be North Korea’s first participation in a large-scale conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Man dies after friends dare him to sit on box of Diwali fireworks
A 32-year-old man in India lost his life after accepting a dare by his friends to sit on a box of lit fireworks on Diwali, according to the police.
The man, identified only by one name, Shabarish, reportedly sat on a box of exploding fireworks at the urging of his six friends as part of a risky wager during celebrations on 31 October in the country’s IT hub, Bengaluru.
The group, including Shabarish, was believed to be under the influence of alcohol at the time, according to reports. His friends promised to buy him an autorickshaw if he carried out the stunt, which involved sitting on the box as it exploded.
A video of the incident, now circulating widely on social media, shows the fatal explosion, with Shabarish collapsing to the ground after the fireworks went off beneath him. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.
“A case of culpable homicide has been registered and the six members of the group involved in the incident have been arrested and produced before the court,” deputy commissioner of police Lokesh Jagalasar was quoted as saying by thePress Trust of India.
He died while undergoing treatment on 2 November at the Victoria Hospital in the city. The police have arrested six people connected with the incident.
According to the police, the victim, a construction labourer, was roaming in the area after consuming alcohol, when he met the group known to him, who were setting off the fireworks.
They asked him to join them before issuing him the challenge at around 9.30pm. He sustained severe burn injuries to his buttocks, abdomen, and thighs before collapsing, reported the Times of India.
“Dinakar (one of the accused) came and told me Shabarish had set off fireworks and sustained injuries,” his mother Vijaya told the outlet. “As my son was drunk, I believed his version. I rushed to the spot with my younger daughter and with the help of those youths, we rushed [him] to a nearby hospital.
“Around 1am, he was moved to the burns ward at Victoria hospital, where he died on 2 November,” she said.
It was while making the funeral arrangements for him, that the family learnt about the details of the incident.
“The incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed at one of the buildings,” she told the Indian national daily. “I was shocked to see the footage and realised that the youths had lied to me.”
According to Vijaya, Shabarish had gone to work as a construction worker and returned home for the Diwali celebration. “I wish he had stayed away for a few more days,” lamented the mother. “At least, he would have still been alive.”
This adds to the list of fatalities around fireworks in India.
Earlier, a 65-year-old man in India was lynched by three men after he objected to people setting off fireworks outside his home in Faridabad, located 28 km from the Indian capital, New Delhi.
In another case, a 42-year-old woman was beaten to death after she protested against fireworks in front of her house in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday night.
The woman, Kalawati, who had a longstanding dispute with her neighbour Durgesh Kumar, protested after his family set off fireworks in front of her home.
When Kalawati’s family opposed it, a heated altercation broke out, escalating to violence, reported the Times of India. Though Kalawati tried to mediate, she was attacked and sustained severe head injuries, leading to her death on the spot.
North Korean soldiers in Russia now exceed 10,000, says Seoul
The number of North Korean soldiers deployed in the Russian army exceeded 10,000, South Korea said, as the first set of Pyongyang’s troops reportedly came under fire from Ukraine.
The South Korean defence ministry said on Tuesday that a “significant number” of North Korean troops have moved to several frontlines, including in the Ukraine’s Kursk border where the Kremlin’s forces have struggled to repel the Ukrainian offensive.
North Korea, the country with one of the world’s largest militaries of 1.2 million soldiers, has sparked concerns about the widening conflict with dictator Kim Jong-un’s military alliance with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. South Korean officials suggested sending officials to Ukraine to offer intelligence on North Korean battlefield tactics.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency said that about 12,000 North Korean troops including 500 officer-level personnel and three generals were already in Russia.
They are training for combat with Ukrainian forces at five military bases, it said.
“We understand that more than 10,000 North Korean troops are currently in Russia, and a significant number of them have moved to the frontline areas including Kursk,” Jeon Ha-kyou, a spokesperson for Seoul’s defence ministry, told a briefing, citing intelligence authorities.
However, Ms Jeon did not provide details when asked whether the North Koreans were engaged in combat or about a South Korean media report citing an unnamed government official that as many as 40 North Korean troops had been killed on the battlefield.
The estimates put the number higher than what the Pentagon and the US State Department have confirmed yet.
According to the Biden administration, around 10,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia’s Kursk to bolster Vladimir Putin’s failed defence against Ukraine’s push in the coming days.
On Monday, a State Department spokesperson said as many as 10,000 North Korean troops are in the Kursk region and could engage in combat in the “coming days”.
“We now assess that as many as 10,000 have made their way to Kursk and could enter combat in the coming days,” Mathew Miller told a press briefing.
When asked if North Korean soldiers are already fighting the Ukrainian army, Mr Miller said he cannot speak definitively about it.
“But as we have said, we expected that it was likely that they would enter into combat against Ukrainian forces,” he said. “And if they did, they would be legitimate military targets.”
An official at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on Monday said the first set of North Korean soldiers in Kurks have already come under fire on the border by the Ukrainian forces.
Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said in a Telegram post: “The first military personnel of the DPRK have already come under fire in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation,” referring to North Korea by the acronym for its official title, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres also expressed concerns about deployment of North Korean troops on Russia’s soil, saying it could lead to an “escalation of the war in Ukraine“.
“The Secretary-General is very concerned about reports of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea being sent to the Russian Federation, including their possible deployment to the conflict zone,” said Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief’s spokesperson.
“This would represent a very dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine. Everything must be done to avoid any internationalisation of this conflict,” he warned in the statement on Sunday.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, urged his country’s allies to act before it is too late and “stop watching”.
“Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians as well,” he said, adding that his troops were preparing to confront a new enemy.
Moscow and Pyongyang have so far denied their military alliance. However, Mr Putin did not deny reports of North Korean soldiers in Russia when confronted at the Brics summits and referred to the strategic partnership treaty between the two countries.
At least 36 dead as crowded bus veers off road into deep gorge
A bus accident in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand claimed 36 lives after a passenger bus fell into a 150m-deep gorge.
The accident occurred around 8.25am on Monday at Marchula, roughly 35km from destination, as the bus travelled from Pauri to Ramnagar.
Local villagers were the first responders, rescuing passengers before the police and state disaster response force arrived at the scene.
“The incident took place on Monday morning and the district administration received information about the bus falling into a 150m-deep gorge around 8.45am,” Uttarakhand’s Almora district disaster management officer, Vineet Pal, told reporters.
Nine of the passengers died after being taken to the hospital, while three others were airlifted to AIIMS in Delhi for treatment.
Over 60 people were travelling on the packed bus, according to The Hindu.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a swift rescue and relief operation and announced compensation of Rs400,000 (£3,600) for the families of those who died and Rs100,000 (£900) for the injured. Prime minister Narendra Modi also expressed condolences and announced additional compensation of Rs200,000 (£1800) rupees for the families of the deceased and Rs50,000 (£459) for the injured.
“My condolences to those who lost their loved ones in the road accident in Almora, Uttarakhand. Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured. Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in every possible effort for relief and rescue,” Mr Modi said in a post.
A magisterial inquiry is underway, and some local officials in the area have also been suspended, according to The Indian Express.
Investigators have yet to determine the exact cause of the accident, but police officers indicated that overcrowding might have played a role, The Hindustan Times reported.
Officials reported that the bus departed for Ramnagar from Kainath village in Dhumakot around 6.30am. The driver, Dinesh Singh, reportedly lost control while attempting to navigate a bend near Kupi in Almora around 8.45am. The bus broke through the barricades, plunged 150m down the steep hillside, and crashed at the bottom of the gorge, just metres from a stream.
This crash is the deadliest in the hill state since July 2018, when 48 people lost their lives in Pauri Garhwal.
Some survivors of the crash reported that the bus axle gave way under the weight of the passengers. “The axle snapped and the driver lost control. I shut my eyes as the bus rolled down the road. I don’t know how I managed to get out,” Ayush, 17, who was travelling with his family said.
Police reported that 10 of the deceased were women, with 28 people dying at the scene.
“The remaining eight passed away at a hospital in Ramnagar,” Devendra Pincha, Almora’s senior superintendent of police, told reporters.
“I was asleep and was woken by a sharp jerk. The bus rolled down the road, and I could only hear people screaming. We stopped violently seconds later. Locals came to our rescue. When I finally got out of the mangled bus, there were dead bodies and injured people all around,” a survivor identified only by one name, Jagdeep, was quoted as saying by HT.
President Draupadi Murmu said in a post on X: “The news of the death of many people, including women and children, in a road accident in Almora is heart-wrenching. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.”
World’s first wooden satellite built in Japan launched to space
A first-of-its-kind wooden satellite built by Japanese scientists was launched into space on Tuesday in an early trial to test the use of timber in future Moon and Mars missions.
The 10cm-cube satellite, dubbed LignoSat, is made by Kyoto University in collaboration with the logging company Sumitomo Forestry.
It is expected to be flown to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket and later released into an orbit about 400km (250miles) above the Earth.
The satellite, made of magnolia wood, is durable and can withstand the hostile space environment, researchers say.
Built using traditional Japanese crafts methods without glue or screws, they say the sustainable materials and technique used in its construction can help reduce space clutter.
“With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever,” Takao Doi, a professor at Kyoto University, told Reuters.
“We aim to build human habitats using wood in space, such as on the Moon and Mars, in the future,” he said.
Wood can be more durable in space than it is on Earth since there is no oxygen or water there to cause it to rot or catch fire.
Its use may also help tackle the growing problem of space junk.
When decommissioned, they may simply burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere more easily than conventional metal satellites, researchers say.
“Metal satellites might be banned in the future. If we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX,” Dr Doi said.
Once launched into space, the pioneering satellite would stay in orbit for six months.
Its electronic components would measure how well wood endures the extreme space environment where temperatures may fluctuate drastically every hour.
Researchers hope to collect data on how the satellite behaves in space, such as changes in the material’s internal temperature, and magnetic properties, as well as the amount it expands and contracts in low-gravity environments.
“It may seem outdated, but wood is actually cutting-edge technology as civilisation heads to the moon and Mars,” Dr Doi said.
Fewer Japanese high school boys experiencing their first kiss
Fewer Japanese high school students are experiencing their first kiss, a new survey has revealed.
Only about one-fifth of high school boys have had their first kiss, the lowest rate recorded since the Japan Association for Sex Education (JASE) began its national survey on youth sexuality in 1974.
Just 22.8 per cent of boys and 27.5 per cent of girls aged 15-18 have kissed someone, according to a recent survey by JASE. These figures represent a significant drop since 2017 and continue a downward trend since the mid-2000s.
The Tokyo-based group, which conducts the survey every six years, announced the latest results on 3 November.
Conducted between August 2023 and March 2024, the questionnaire received 12,562 valid responses, with participants that included 4,621 junior high school students, 4,321 high school students, and 3,614 university students.
The association reported that 12 per cent of junior and senior high school students had engaged in sexual intercourse, including 14.8 per cent of girls – a decrease of 3.5 and 5.3 percentage points, respectively.
The association attributes this partly to social restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, which may have stifled in-person interactions during key developmental years. “Limited contact with others during the coronavirus outbreak may have lowered the rate of sexual activity among junior and senior high school students,” the survey said.
Meanwhile, solitary sexual habits, like masturbation, have risen, possibly due to increased exposure to sexual content online.
Some experts suggest this shift reflects a broader disengagement from physical intimacy, potentially impacting Japan’s already low birth rate.
Yusuke Hayashi, professor of quantitative sociology at Musashi University in charge of analysing the survey results, told Mainichi: “The combination of school closures and restrictions on face-to-face contact due to the coronavirus pandemic at a sensitive time when junior and senior high school students are beginning to become interested in sexuality is believed to have had an impact.”
Regarding the rise in self-pleasuring experience, Mr Hayashi said: “Since it is observed regardless of the presence or absence of sexual partners, this may be due to increased exposure to sexual expressions in manga and other media, rather than as a substitute for interpersonal sexual behaviour.”
Japan has been grappling with a low birth rate for many years now. The number of births in Japan for the first half of this year, in fact, dropped to the lowest since 1969, preliminary government data showed in September.
Japan marked 350,074 births between January to June, which was a 5.7 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year, the health ministry’s preliminary report said.
This continued the trend of declining births over the past few years, with the total number of births in 2023 also being the lowest since records began in 1899.
Myanmar military chief makes first visit to China
Myanmar‘s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing embarked on his first official visit to China since wresting power three years ago as civil war continued to rage in his Southeast Asian country.
Beijing has been a major ally and arms supplier of the Myanmar military but last year China sealed parts of the border and halted key imports to rebel-controlled areas when the internal conflict reached its southern borders.
Beijing is known to also maintain ties with Myanmar’s armed rebel groups which hold territory along its border.
Gen Hlaing departed on a flight from capital Naypyitaw on Tuesday for a two-day visit to the neighbouring country since his army orchestrated a coup and seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
He will visit the Chinese city of Kunming on Wednesday and Thursday to attend the Greater Mekong Subregion summit along with two others, state-run MRTV reported. Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province, is about 400km from the border with Myanmar.
He is reportedly scheduled to meet Chinese government officials to discuss “ways to enhance goodwill, economic and various sectors between the two governments and the people”.
The visit comes at a time when the Myanmar Army is working to recover from the unprecedented battlefield defeats over the past year and mostly near the Chinese border. There has been a rise in anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar due to Beijing’s strong ties with the junta, The Irrawaddy reported in October.
China has strategic economic interests in Myanmar, including major oil and gas pipelines crossing the country and a planned deep-sea port in the Bay of Bengal. Beijing, Myanmar’s biggest trade partner, also imports rare earths from its smaller neighbour for use in the automotive and wind energy sectors.
“Whether he is going there to receive more Chinese support or more Chinese pressure, it’s only bad for the people,” said David Mathieson, an independent analyst who tracks Myanmar.
“China has made clear they are supporting the SAC and their elections transition plan,” he said, referring to the junta’s State Administration Council, headed by the army chief.
The offensive by the “Three Brotherhood Alliance”, comprising the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Arakan Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, was able to quickly capture towns and overrun military bases in the Shan state along the border last year.
It was widely seen at the time as having Beijing’s tacit support to help stamp out rampant organized crime activities in the area controlled by ethnic Chinese. Beijing helped broker a cease-fire in January, but that fell apart in June when the rebel forces launched new attacks.
Kyaw Zaw, a spokesperson for the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), said in a recorded video posted on Facebook, that he was deeply concerned about China’s invitation to the army chief and urged Beijing to review its action.
“Myanmar’s people want stability, peace and economic growth. It is Min Aung Hlaing and his group who are destroying these things,” Kyaw Zaw said. “I am concerned that it will unintentionally incite a misunderstanding of the Chinese government among Myanmar’s public.”
The NUG was established by elected lawmakers barred from taking their seats in 2021 and is closely linked to Ms Suu Kyi’s former ruling National League for Democracy party, which had friendly relations with Beijing.
Although China has faced backlash for backing the army, the shadow government has avoided antagonising Beijing too much, recognising the influence it has in the region.
The junta began a nationwide census last month to pave the way for an election next year, despite not having control over wide swathes of the country, and with dozens of political parties disbanded.
Beijing promised technical support and aid to the junta for the census and the proposed election, Myanmar state media said in August after Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met the army chief.
Additional reporting by agencies.
Lahore shuts down schools with air pollution above dangerous levels
Lahore ordered all primary schools to close for a week in response to soaring pollution levels, as the toxic smog enveloping the Pakistani city continued to pose severe health risks.
Lahore held the top spot on a real-time list of the world’s most polluted cities on Sunday after recording its highest ever pollution reading of 1900 near the Pakistan–India border on Saturday. It went far beyond the threshold of 300 PM2.5 – fine particulate matter of 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter – which the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as “dangerous”.
An air pollution crisis has gripped Lahore, a city of 14 million people, due to a combination of low-grade diesel emissions, smoke from agricultural fires, and seasonal weather patterns that trap pollutants in the air.
The provincial government of Punjab confirmed that air quality levels hit unprecedented peaks on both Saturday and Sunday, with IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring group, corroborating these levels as among the highest recorded in recent years. A reading beyond 300 PM2.5 on IQAir is dubbed “hazardous”.
Attributing the “unexpected” air pollution situation in the country to its hostile neighbour, senior minister of Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb said, “this cannot be solved without talks with India”.
Meanwhile, she urged parents and caregivers to ensure that children remain indoors. “The government is working closely with the Environmental Protection Department to monitor the situation and implement measures to combat the smog,” the minister was quoted as saying by the Pakitan Today.
The smog crisis in Lahore, similar to the situation in India’s capital Delhi, tends to worsen during cooler months due to temperature inversion trapping pollution closer to the ground.
Delhi’s air quality was recorded in the “very poor” category on Sunday as AQI reached 382, according to country’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
While, Raja Jehangir Anwar, a senior environment official in Pakistan, says the “biggest headache” causing the smog in Lahore was the practice of burning crop waste across the Indian border, the data analysing individual factors contributing to pollution in Delhi indicates otherwise.
Delhi’s air quality continues to deteriorate even as the impact of stubble burning – a common contributor to the city’s pollution – has significantly reduced, indicating that other pollutants are playing a larger role in the capital’s hazardous air, reported India Today.
According to data recorded over the weekend, crop residue burning contributed to just 15 per cent of Delhi’s pollution on Saturday, a notable decline from over 35 per cent the day before.
The decrease in emissions from stubble burning, a traditional seasonal practice in nearby states like Punjab and Haryana, was expected to ease Delhi’s air quality. However, the city’s pollution levels have remained alarmingly high, suggesting that other sources of pollution have grown more influential, reported the outlet.
Authorities in the Indian capital and surrounding areas handed fines to owners of nearly 60,000 vehicles and more than 7,500 building site for infringing pollution rules in a bit to counter a slump in air quality during last three weeks. According to the Commission for Air Quality Management, around 54,000 vehicles were operating without a valid pollution under control certificate, which confirms acceptable emission levels. Additionally, nearly 3,900 vehicles were seized for being classified as “overaged”.
New Delhi battles intense pollution every winter as cold air traps emissions, dust, and smoke from farm fires in the adjoining farming states of Punjab and Haryana, forcing frequent school closures and construction curbs in response.
Air quality in the region is expected to stay “very poor” until Wednesday, the earth sciences ministry said, and is likely to range from ”very poor” to “severe” for the subsequent six days.
The CPCB says a rating of severe, in the range of 401 and 500 on its index, affects the healthy and can have serious effects on those already suffering disease.
IQAir has rated New Delhi the world’s most polluted capital for four years in a row, but poor air quality is a common winter problem across South Asia.
In Lahore, the outlook for the coming days appeared bleak. “Weather forecast for the next six days shows that wind patterns will remain the same. Therefore we are closing all government and private primary schools in Lahore for a week,” Jahangir Anwar, a senior official with Lahore’s Environmental Protection Department, told AFP.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, Punjab’s senior minister, announced additional health precautions for children still attending upper-level classes, urging schools to make face masks mandatory. “This smog is very harmful for children,” she stated in a Sunday press conference. “We are keeping an eye on the health of children in senior classes.”
She added that smog counters have been set up in hospitals to handle any health emergencies linked to pollution, reported Reuters.
The severe air pollution is also putting significant strain on healthcare facilities as it exacerbates respiratory conditions and raises the risk of severe diseases.
According to the WHO, extended exposure to air pollution can trigger strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory issues.
Alarmingly, PM2.5 particles were recorded at over 40 times the level considered safe by the WHO on Saturday, with similarly high readings on Sunday morning.
Lahore’s pollution crisis has prompted an aggressive government response. Last week, the provincial environmental agency rolled out new restrictions in four pollution “hot spots” within the city. The measures include a ban on tuk-tuks with polluting two-stroke engines and a requirement for restaurants to install smoke filters if they use barbecues.
Additionally, government offices and private firms have been instructed to shift 50 per cent of their workforce to remote work, starting on Monday, to reduce vehicular traffic and lower emissions.
Children, who are especially vulnerable to air pollution due to their smaller lung capacity and faster breathing rates, have already been subject to precautionary measures.
Last month, authorities prohibited outdoor exercise for schoolchildren until January and adjusted school hours to minimise exposure during peak pollution times. “Masks should be mandatory in schools,” added Ms Aurangzeb, emphasising the need for heightened protection for younger populations.
According to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, the impact of such high pollution levels on health is far-reaching. The institute’s research shows that the current levels of pollution in Lahore are likely to reduce life expectancy by an average of 7.5 years.