Punjab to benefit from Chinese expertise to tackle smog

LAHORE:Provincial Environment Secretary, Rashid Kamal-ur-Rehman, convened a meeting with Chinese environmentalists here Monday.

The gathering included Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren, Additional Director General Dr Zafar Iqbal, and DG Environment Zaheer Abbas. Discussions centered on addressing smog-related challenges in Punjab, particularly Lahore, as Chinese environmental experts provided practical suggestions for resolution.

Environment Secretary Rashid Kamal-ur-Rehman expressed the Punjab government's eagerness to leverage the experiences of Chinese environmentalists in combating smog. Directed by the chief minister, efforts are under way to formulate both short and long-term strategies for smog elimination. Rehman highlighted successful smog reduction measures already implemented, seeking further guidance from Chinese experts. Last month, Lahore witnessed a successful test of artificial rain to combat smog.

Environment DG Zaheer Abbas presented a detailed briefing on the Punjab government initiatives, along with relevant governing laws. The World Bank provided data about the average Air Quality Index (AQI) rate in 2023, Mobile AQMS, and low-cost sensors. Abbas emphasised the regional nature of the issue, attributing air pollution causes in Lahore to 83.5% from transport, 9.7% from industry, 3.9% from agriculture, 3.6% from waste burning, 0.14% from commercial activities, and 0.11% from domestic sources.

The Punjab Green Development Programme, funded by the World Bank, was elaborated by SP&I in a detailed briefing. Consul General of China, Zhao Shiren, commended the efforts of Punjab chief minister, the provincial minister of environment, and the environment secretary for achieving a 10% reduction in smog rates in 2023, particularly in Lahore. Chinese environmental experts provided insights into the background, key research findings, and support for air quality improvement, sharing China's strategies in combating smog.

They highlighted a collaborative effort involving 295 institutions and 2,900 scientific researchers across China to control air pollution in every district and city. Separately, the Chinese delegation met with secretary agriculture Nadir Chattha regarding the control of smog.

Speaking on the occasion, secretary said the experiences of Chinese experts for the control of smog would be beneficial for us. He said that in Punjab, 6.4 million hectares of wheat and 2.6 million hectares of paddy are cultivated annually with an average yield of 3.2 and 2.3 million tons/ha respectively. In Punjab, 31% of wheat is mechanised while 69% is harvested by machines. Around 6% of paddy is mechanised and 60% is harvested by machines.

He clarified that agriculture contributes only 20% to smog. He said that according to the images taken from the satellite, the area under cultivation for paddy in Indian Punjab is double that of Pakistan, which is harvested along with paddy in Pakistan. After harvesting paddy, residue in Indian Punjab is set ablaze. But air pollution is increasing due to their fire. Apart from this, increasing population, high use of transport and industrial activities are among the main reasons for the formation of smog.

While briefing the Chinese delegation, secretary said that smog did not occur during the corona lockdown in 2020, even though agricultural activities continued as usual during this period, but air pollution did not occur.

Chinese Consul General Zaho Shiren said that the purpose of the meeting was mutual sharing of ideas, knowledge and experiences. During the meeting, the Chinese experts expressed their full cooperation to Agriculture Secretary Nadir Chattha.