THE thick smoggy air floating from India, which has impacted air quality across Punjab, is now moving towards Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, worsening the province’s atmosphere. The impact of the ongoing smog crisis in Pakistan has continued to intensify, as the hazardous air toxins from India engulf the region and contaminate the air, with Lahore being one of the most polluted cities in the country on the global air pollution ranking.
The Punjab Government has been working hard to address the challenge but in view of the gravity and scale of the problem, a national response is required on priority basis. This is because reports indicate after Punjab’s Multan — where the AQI was recorded at 587 last night — KP capital Peshawar ranked the third most polluted city in the country, with an AQI of 587, a level deemed hazardous by the Swiss air quality monitor. The cities worst hit by air pollution after Lahore and Multan were Bahawalpur, Faisalabad and Sargodha where air quality was poor. As for the KP, more and more people are complaining about eye and throat infections and breathing issues. The smog has started affecting normal life badly in all the provinces as connecting arteries and thoroughfares including Lahore-Sialkot Motorway, Motorways M1, M2 and M5 were blocked at various points causing traffic disruption in Punjab. Moreover, roads connecting Punjab with Sindh and inter-provincial border areas were also hit by smog. Smog-related road accidents have been reported in the provinces and in Punjab alone ten people were killed and many others injured. Preparation of a sixteen point Plan of Action by the Punjab Government envisaging short, medium and long-term measures to address the challenge means the authorities realize the gravity of the situation. The plan involves an expenditure of Rs.100 billion and to start with Rs. 10 billion have been earmarked for the current financial year besides a focus on implementation of relevant environmental protection laws in all 38 districts of the province. As part of the short-term measures, the Environmental Protection Department, in coordination with local administration and police, has launched a major crackdown on violators of transport laws in the provincial capital but there is a need to make it a province-wise, rather country-wide campaign. Some sections of the motorways are closed temporarily as a precautionary measure against possible accidents and schools in worst affected districts have been closed in view of health hazards. Amid deteriorating smog levels across Punjab, the provincial government has decided to launch a pilot project for artificial rain in Rawalpindi and preparations are underway to do so whenever sufficient cloud cover is available in the area. The issue of smog is not confined to Pakistan as it is more acute in some regions of neighbouring India and in 2023 Bangladesh recorded the worst air quality of 134 countries monitored by the Swiss climate group, IQAir prompting the World Bank to advise the country to work with other regional countries to advance the cause of clean air. It was in this spirit that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced to seek cooperation of Indian Punjab in jointly tackling the menace but it seems there was no encouraging response from the other side because of bilateral issues between the two countries as well as internal political dimensions of the problem in India. In this backdrop, experts argue that Pakistan should undertake thorough studies, prepare workable plans, allocate necessary resources and implement programmes rigorously to realize the cherished goal of a clean environment. This is not impossible as we have before us experience of many countries that effectively handled the situation on their own. On an immediate basis, the situation can improve a lot if drastic action is taken against polluters in sectors like industry, transport, energy, brick-kiln, housing and infrastructure. There should be no mercy for those poisoning our air due to neglect or greed.
