Pakistan’s air quality is deteriorating by the day. It is essential for Pakistan to take a proactive approach in regulating industry polluters and implement the existing laws on environment, or the country may have to declare a health emergency. The Air Quality Index (AQI) ranked Pakistan as the second most polluted country in the world in 2018. Experts on air quality state that if a city’s AQI is 50 or less, it is considered healthy. However, beyond that number, the air becomes unhealthy and it can result in numerous diseases including cancer, asthma and it is especially fatal for children as well as for people with a heart or lung disease. Research also shows that smog can be a cause depression and Alzheimer’s.

Generally, an AQI of 150 or above puts a city in the category of dangerously polluted cities. On the other hand, an AQI of 300 or above is considered to be a health emergency. Today, Pakistani cities dominate the list of cities with the poorest air quality. The AQI of Lahore stands at a dangerous 241 AQI while cities like Karachi and Rawalpindi have an AQI well above 150. Pakistan is going through a climate crisis as all its major cities’ air quality is on dangerous levels and if no strict regulation is bought in place, Pakistan will have to close schools and offices and declare a health emergency.

Evidence shows the air quality in Pakistan has a major impact on people. According to a report of State of Global Air, 128,000 people lost in their lives in Pakistan in one single year. Air pollution isn’t just a domestic threat, it is recognized by international bodies as a severe threat to people’s health. The United Nations has called it as a pressing sustainability concern and is mentioned in two sustainable development goals; SDG 3.9 Substantial reduction of health impacts from hazardous substances) and SDG 11.6 Reduction of adverse impacts of cities on people.

However, in order to address air pollution, Islamabad has taken some steps to improve air quality in Pakistan, these include the National Conservation Strategy in 1992, the National Environmental Act 2001 and the most recently proposed Clean Air Network 2020. In accordance with the official document of Clean Air Network, there has been a gradual increase in the air pollution in Pakistan. From the consumption of oil in 1980 which was at 4.3 million Tonnes to 15.6 million Tonnes in 1997, showing an increase of 263% according to the economic survey of Pakistan 1997-98.

Furthermore, according to statistics released by Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) showed that in 1989 the lead in the air was nine times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Moreover, the presence of particulate matter in the atmosphere can lead to multiple diseases including asthma, allergy and lung diseases.

The major sources of air pollution include emissions from vehicles, industrial waste, burning of solid waste and natural dust. There are some short-term measures that Pakistan can take to battle the air pollution which include restricting the conversion of engines from gasoline to diesel and the token tax imposed on diesel vehicles can be increased. Pakistan can also take long term measures by introducing pure/clean fuels in the country, proper waste disposal in cities, to educate common people/ public awareness about the subject are some of the long-term measures from many.

While many laws are present such as the Punjab Environment Protection Act 1997 for the improvement of the environment, there is a lot that can be done to improve the environment and the quality of air such as purifying the quality of air where people spend most of their time, invest in air purifiers. People can also limit burning leaves, trash and other materials. United Nations recommends integrated energy, transport and environmental policies and implementation by the Government. However, along with introducing newer and more efficient polices, the existing laws need to be strictly implemented.

In order to understand how deeply Pakistan is affected by climate change and poor air quality, let’s take a look at the case of Lahore. Lahore once referred to as the city of gardens is now a city of smog, it was at one point ranked as the most air polluted city of the world. In the recent past, the smog, especially in the winters takes over the city of Lahore. In the past decade Lahore’s air quality has detreated due to several reasons some of them being that the trees have been cut down approximately 70% to make place for the residents. Also, the brick kilns in the suburb of the city of gardens has contributed a lot to the production of smog. In addition to the points above, there are industries coming into existence in and out Lahore which are also seen as a contributing factor towards the bad air quality (smog) in the city of Lahore.

Air pollution is one of the major environmental issues in Pakistan. The overall climate change and degradation of the air quality especially in the city of gardens, that is, common public, is being affected the most. Over the past years and decades, the overall situation has gone worst in respect to the air quality, another reason of it is the farmers burning crops both within Pakistan and across the border in India.

If strict policies are not followed, there could be a sharp change in air quality which shall bring about damage to the agriculture sector- the backbone of Pakistan’s economy- as well as to the loss of lives due to the bad air quality or smog. Pakistan needs to positively respond to the climate crisis as soon as possible and implement the existing laws on environment pollution before it’s too late.

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Hunnia Iftikhar

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• The Situation of Pakistan’s Air Quality – A Hazy Future? - March 5, 2021