ISLAMABAD: Senior Punjab administration officials have raised the possibility of inducing artificial rain in Lahore, which has been persistently shrouded in dense smog since winter’s onset, leading to school and market closures and drawing criticism from residents over the government’s inadequate response to the issue.
Pakistan’s second-largest city, Lahore, has remained consistently on top of the world’s most polluted places in recent months, with its Air Quality Index (AQI) level hovering around 490.
The AQI is a standardized tool measuring air pollutants like particulate matter, serving as a crucial barometer for public health. An AQI over 300 is considered “hazardous,” meaning the air poses serious health risks to all residents, not just vulnerable groups.
Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi announced a brief holiday earlier in the month, urging the residents of Lahore to stay indoors to prevent private and public vehicles from plying the roads in bigger numbers to reduce emissions from low-grade fuel.
“If Lahore gets clouds on November 29 that are suitable for artificial rain, we will try to arrange for artificial rain,” he told a news conference on Thursday. “But we are still not fully prepared for that. We will have to work on it. Also, you need a specific type of cloud for that. We are working on that, too.”
However, the people of Lahore remained skeptical, saying the provincial administration was not doing enough to deal with the problem even when it had lasted for days.
“The government is making a lot of claims, but is not acting on it,” said Bilal Jan, a resident. “Sometimes, they say they are arranging artificial rain, sometimes they claim they will arrange snow, but it is all just tall claims. There is nothing happening on the ground.”
Zeeshan Gill, another person living in the city, called for the cloud seeding technique that is used to induce artificial rain to deal with the environmental crisis.
“I request the [Punjab] chief minister that if we are not getting rain, they should arrange for cloud seeding so that we can get rain in the city. Also, there should be a severe punishment for those people who are burning crops so that we can get rid of the smog, because it is giving rise to a lot of illnesses,” he said, referring to farmers who burn crop stubble.
Growing industrialization in South Asia in recent decades has fueled growing pollutants emanating from factories, construction activity and vehicles in densely populated areas.
The problem becomes more severe in cooler autumn and winter months, as temperature inversion prevents a layer of warm air from rising and traps pollutants closer to the ground.
Rising air pollution can cut life expectancy by more than five years per person in South Asia, one of the world’s most polluted regions.