 "Lahore, capital Punjab province in Pakistan has been blanketed in a thick layer of smoke and fog for days. AFP")
Itchy throats, relentless coughing, and burning eyes—these are now daily complaints on the streets of major cities in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where suffocating smog has reached “apocalyptic” levels.
As per Swiss air quality monitor IQAir, conditions in Multan reached shocking levels as the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeded 2,000 last week, the worst level on the planet.
Lahore, the provincial capital, was no less better as the AQI surged to 1,900 —over 120 times higher than the limit defined by the World Health Organization.
“It’s become a physical ordeal just to go outdoors,” said Jawaria, a 28-year-old student in Lahore, speaking to The Guardian.
So, what’s behind this alarming pollution spike in Pakistan, and how are officials responding? Here’s a closer look.
Pakistan cities under ’lockdown'
The smog situation which is worsening day by day, has led authorities to place many cities in Pakistan’s Punjab under ‘forced lockdowns’, reported _ANI.
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Lahore, the state capital of 14 million people, has been blanketed in a thick layer of smoke and fog for days.
As a result, the city witnessed widespread road closures due to low visibility, after reports of multiple accidents were reported. Earlier, a major incident on GT Road near Kalashah Kako saw nine people injured when a van rammed into a stationary truck, its driver unable to see the parked vehicle through the dense haze.
Motorbike rickshaws, heavy vehicles and motorbike parking were banned from “hotspot” areas - part of a so-called “green lockdown”- that has urged people to stay indoors and prompted school closures across the state.
“The children are constantly coughing, they have constant allergies. In schools we saw that most of the children were falling sick,” Rafia Iqbal, a 38-year-old primary school teacher told AFP.
The PM 2.5 concentration in Multan, the second largest city in Southern Punjab, reached 947 micrograms per cubic metre, close to 190 times the WHO-recommended level. Anything over 5 micrograms per cubic metre is hazardous.
Rafia’s husband Muhammad Safdar, a 41-year-old advertising professional, said the level of pollution “is making daily living impossible”.
“We cannot move around, we cannot go outside, we can do nothing at all,” he told the news agency.
By the end of the week, the Lahore High Court has also ordered that all markets in the Punjab province close by 8 pm each night, with a complete shutdown on Sundays. Parks and zoos will remain closed until November 17.
Also read: Diseases and deaths: How air pollution turns Delhi deadly every year
Hospital admissions see a spike
As pollution levels reach alarming highs, the impact on health has become undeniable.
Last week, the BBC reported that around 900 people were hospitalised in Lahore due to severe breathing issues.
“More and more people are coming with complaints of asthma, itchy throats, and coughing,” Dr Irfan Malik, a pulmonologist at one of Lahore’s largest hospitals, told the publication.
For most families, air purifiers are a luxury for the wealthy in the city. The cost of the machine, combined with frequent filter replacements in such extreme pollution, puts a strain on household budgets.
Ammar Ali Jan, a historian in Lahore, told _The Guardian_s, “Only the elite who can afford air purifiers can breathe safely – it’s a form of apartheid."
The World Health Organization warns that air pollution can trigger strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and other respiratory conditions, with children, babies, and the elderly particularly vulnerable.
ashif, a Lahore resident, shared her concerns with the BBC, saying, “Like every mother, I want to see my children run and play without fearing pollution. I see my children struggle with coughs and breathing problems these days, and it is a painful reminder that our air has become extremely toxic.”
Dr Alia Haider, a physician and climate activist, has called for awareness campaigns, noting that many patients are unaware of the dangers of smog.
“We are stuck in our own poison,” she told AFP. “It’s like a cloud of gas over the city.”
Also read: Delhi, Lahore, & Dhaka: Is South Asia becoming the world’s ‘smog capital’?
Why are the pollution levels so bad?
One major cause of smog is the common practice among farmers of burning crop stubble to clear their fields quickly and cheaply.
Though this method is illegal in Pakistan, weak enforcement has allowed it to continue. Each year, a similar situation plays out in India, where farmers in Punjab burn crop residue, creating dense smog over Delhi and other parts of northern India. This year, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) breached the severe mark multiple times.
The Punjab government in Pakistan claims it has offered farmers alternatives to stubble burning. However, Khalid Khokhar, president of the farmers’ association, refuted this. “More than 10 million farmers live and work in Punjab. Burning the crop is the cheapest option, so that’s why it has continued. We need help for a cheap alternative for all farmers,” he told The Guardian.
According to Nasa, stubble burning is projected to increase this year, with estimates suggesting between 15,500 and 18,500 fires, as per Hiren Jethva, a senior research scientist at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Morgan State University.
In addition, much of Lahore’s air pollution stems from emissions from the city’s five million motorbikes and millions of other vehicles. On Friday, Lahore’s high court identified heavy traffic emissions as a primary contributor to the smog, the BBC reported, citing the Associated Press of Pakistan.
Adding to the problem are industries on Lahore’s outskirts, particularly coal-fired brick kilns, which pump further pollutants into the air. As the year ends, cold air descending from Tibet traps this pollution over the city, intensifying the smog.
The situation has become so dire that this week, Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Punjab in Pakistan, proposed setting aside political tensions to initiate a “smog diplomacy” initiative with India to address the shared air pollution crisis.
Abid Omar, founder of Pakistan’s Air Quality Initiative, told the BBC that swift action is needed from both governments. “The roadmap to clean air is clear, but the present policies from both India and Pakistan aren’t enough to significantly reduce pollution. I tell people, blue skies are an indicator of good governance,” he said.
With input from agencies