THE Punjab government would be keen to forget its first year of treating smog as ‘a year-round epidemic’ instead of a seasonal issue.

The policy shift, announced in July this year, has so far failed to yield the desired results. Indeed, the air quality in Lahore is now worse than it has ever been, with the Air Quality Index exceeding 1,000 on Sunday for the first time ever. Children have been told to stay at home this week as primary schools up to Grade 5 have been shut by the provincial government due to the smog hazard.

The polluted air, which carries hazardous chemicals many times over the standards set by the World Health Organisation, can cause a host of respiratory diseases, as well as strokes, heart disease and lung cancer. Children are particularly at risk because of their underdeveloped respiratory systems and propensity to breathe more rapidly, which causes them to inhale more pollutants relative to their size than adults.

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Of course, combating smog was never going to be easy, no matter how keenly the Punjab chief minister wanted to see it prevented this year. Though the provincial government has attempted to clamp down on all sources of pollution, including restaurants emitting excessive smoke from their barbecues, the Pakistan Air Quality Experts’ Group, comprising leading air quality experts, researchers, doctors and scientists, deems these measures ill-planned, insufficient and therefore unlikely to have a meaningful impact on the larger problem.

Another factor has also been blamed extensively by the Punjab authorities: cross-border pollution from India, from where smoke from stubble-burning and fireworks during the recently concluded Diwali celebrations are blowing over this week into Pakistan. The Punjab chief minister is now seeking a joint effort by the two Punjabs to combat the smog crisis, which, the WHO warns, is reducing the life expectancy of the citizens residing in their territories.

With the authorities told to go back to the drawing board — the provincial environment minister on Monday said they will “use this week to conduct research, mapping, and studies to reassess and determine if extended school closures are needed” — this is a good time to reflect on past policies that have led to this point, and to plan more extensively about how the crisis can be averted in future.

It should be acknowledged that the catastrophe unfolding in Lahore has been years in the making; it is the product of our authorities’ repeated failure to recognise the environmental impact of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. The smog crisis in Lahore should also serve as a stark warning to administrators of other urban centres. If immediate steps are not taken to address pollution, millions more may soon find themselves choking on toxic air.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2024