Every winter, the cities in upper and central part of Pakistan wear a blanket of fog; which is primarily due to a particular climate zoning, but the problem is getting worse with each passing year. This is because the smoke emitting from the surface adds to the fog and thickens it — creating something called ‘smog’. In other words, it is a kind of air pollution named for being a mixture of smoke and fog in the air.

The problem has intensified as during the past few decades due to rapid and sustained industrialisation and addition of millions of vehicles which emit smoke in the air. Some experts blame the coal-based industry in India located close to the border, the smoke of which is carried by wind into Pakistan.

According to Dr Badar M. Ghauri, of the Institute of Space Technology, through the satellite data on haze, smog and fog it has been revealed that the haze density increases after rice harvesting (October-November) when agricultural waste is burnt in India close to the Pakistani border. The fog / haze cover during during this period ranged from 155,000 - 354,500 sqkm in Pakistan and India which is double from that during 2006-2010.

Air pollution in Lahore needs to be urgently addressed as it is now considered amongst the most polluted cities in Asia

In Pakistan billions of rupees have been spent on building motorways for speedy movement of agricultural and industrial products, but during December and January due to smog everything slows down and on some occasions come to a complete standstill. An elderly resident of Narowal, Emmanuel Das said that the fog has decreased the daylight hours over the years.

Punjab is a densely populated province and in terms of ‘human productivity loss’ one can calculate the negative impact on the financial health of the country if a large proportion of the population is rendered unproductive. Lahore also falls amongst the worst smog affected cities in the world. According to the World Bank statistics the cost of urban air pollution in Pakistan was Rs65 billion in 2006.

Of late, the flights and land carriers’ cancellation frequency increased tremendously, which not only caused loss to the transport industry, but catapulted an array of other sequential effects, i.e. road accidents and loss of human lives due to delay in transporting serious patients to the hospitals owing to low visibility.

According to Mushtaq Ahmed Gill, President, South Asian Agriculture Conservation Network Foundation, the residue from cotton, wheat and rice crops is burnt on both sides of the border after the harvesting season during winter. In this season, while flying over this route at night one can see swaths of burning fire and smoke emitting from these fields.

Gill says that the residue contains nutrients worth billions of rupees that are essential for soil enrichment. Besides, agriculture-friendly insects and pests that help in the growth of plants are also destroyed along with the residue. Pakistan is an agriculture-based economy and cannot afford this luxury for a very long time. For their own petty savings, the farmers make others liable to pay huge amounts in terms of losses to businesses, trade, crops, and human health and productivity.

In the recent past kino crop suffered losses estimated to be in millions when the fruit started falling due to frost. Experts blamed the cold weather and very dense fog during this season.

We can learn from the Europeans who faced the worst smog situation in the ’60s and ’70s. Their corrective measures and legislations prompted technological developments that helped improve air quality. Standards have been set for cars and heavy duty vehicles’ engines for better fuel efficiency. Industries are using efficient pollution reduction technology. Switching from coal to natural gas has also helped in improving the overall air quality.

Beijing is already going through heavy air pollution presently, and the surrounding cities and provinces have raised their alert levels as northern China is facing the worst smog of the year. Looking at the worsening situation in China and Delhi, one can cautiously predict that Pakistan will face a similar situation in the days to come.

Environmental experts suggest that since smog is a common threat to the environment and economies of both India and Pakistan, they need to come together to deal with it through mutual cooperation. Both the countries strictly need to implement environmental laws and keep proper checks on burning of fossil fuels, crop residue and garbage, and application of latest technology in the transport and coal-based industry for carbon emission reduction. They further warn that without practical measures on both sides of the border, the genie of smog can never be brought back into the bottle.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, February 14th, 2016