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Friday March 29, 2024

Dirty air

By our correspondents
October 18, 2017

In October last year, a cloud of smog descended on central Punjab, including the city of Lahore. There are fears that the smog will be back this year too. The immediate effects of the smog are breathing problems and watery eyes. The longer-term damage has – as expected – never been measured. Last year, multiple theories were presented over why the smog had suddenly appeared. Diwali firecrackers in India, the burning of agricultural waste as well as industrial pollutants and construction activity were all blamed. Promises were made by the government to make sure the smog doesn’t return. But was anything concrete done to improve our preparedness for a possible smog crisis? In India, the Supreme Court has outlawed the use of firecrackers in Diwali – to much public outrage. This might make the situation better than last year, but is not be due to any efforts on the part of our government. If India can ban the use of firecrackers, why could no emergency measures be taken in Pakistan? The obvious answer: issues of public health are hardly ever a priority for our ruling elite.

If anything, Pakistan has pushed towards a coal-friendly energy generation policy – a pollutant that even China has decided to get rid of to stop the frequent appearance of deadly smoke in Beijing and other major Chinese cities. No public advisories have been issued, no policy changes made, no new monitoring equipment acquired. Smog is expected to reappear in central Punjab once again this year in the presence of low wind speed and the absence of rain. It is easy to call for bans but this would only make sense if those in decision-making positions actually cared. The reality is that the Punjab Environmental Protection Bureau remained as poorly equipped and funded as it was a year earlier despite the massive smog. Air quality machines are not functional. Lahore alone needs around 15 monitoring stations. The estimated cost of maintaining an air quality monitoring system would be higher than the department’s annual budget. This is a necessary cost that should be a priority but it still does not explain why the EPD does not share daily air quality readings. With the EPD unable to do its job, it would be best to share the knowledge it has instead of withholding it for public benefit. The warnings were clear last year that smog could become a yearly phenomenon. There is no excuse for why we are not better prepared.