LAHORE: Rapidly increasing number of vehicles, industrial emissions and the burning of crop residue are once again driving a smog crisis in Pakistan’s second largest city of Lahore, exposing millions of residents to hazardous air despite government measures.

The eastern Pakistani city of Lahore topped Swiss group IQAir’s ranking of the world’s most polluted major cities for a second day on Tuesday, ‌with an air ‌quality index (AQI) of 263, categorized as “very ​unhealthy.” A day earlier, the city had an AQI of over 600, categorized as “hazardous.”

The city of over 13 million people has experienced worsening air pollution over the past decade, with experts identifying transport and industrial activity among principal sources of harmful particulate matter. The problem becomes particularly acute every winter season.

“Lahore’s basic problem behind smog is fossil fuel-burning. We are burning coal, diesel and petrol,” Prof. Dr. Abdul Qadir, an environmental sciences and climate change specialist at the University of Punjab, told Arab News.

“The menace of smog has increased gradually since 2015, and we experienced its highest level in 2024.”

The expert said the government had introduced several measures to control emissions, including vehicle-testing and restrictions on crop residue-burning, but stressed that their enforcement needed to be strengthened.

Investment in clean-energy public transport is essential to reduce the number of polluting vehicles on the roads, according to Qadir.

“Long-term development of a mass transit system that totally depends on clean energy will be the best and most sustainable solution for mitigating smog in Lahore,” he said.

Another major contributor is the burning of agricultural waste, which releases smoke and fine particulate matter into the atmosphere.

Qadir said he had observed several instances of crop-residue burning along the Sialkot-Lahore motorway, despite the government providing farmers with machinery that uses crop residue as fertilizer and mixes it with soil to discourage stubble-burning.

“We must completely ban solid-waste burning and stubble-burning. Without cooperation and a change in people’s behavior, we cannot control this problem,” he said.

‘INVISIBLE KILLER’

The consequences of smog are increasingly visible in hospitals, where doctors say respiratory illnesses are becoming more frequent and severe.

Dr. Mohammad Irfan Malik, professor of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Lahore, told Arab News that his clinic had recorded a significant surge in outpatient visits and indoor admissions, including patients requiring intensive care.

“Smog has definitely aggravated the symptoms,” Malik said, adding that respiratory illnesses, once considered largely seasonal, were increasingly becoming a year-round concern in Lahore and other major Pakistani cities.

“Unfortunately, this is now a persistent specialty. We see patients increasing over the last four or five years specifically, and the environment has a strong impact on our lungs.”

Air quality has remained poor for around 260 days annually in Lahore and other major cities over the last few years, making pollution an ongoing public-health threat rather than a problem limited to the winter months, according to Malik.

“Smog is an invisible killer throughout the year in our major cities,” he said.

He identified PM2.5 particles, which are less than 2.5 microns in diameter, as among the most dangerous components of polluted air because they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

Malik advised residents, particularly children, older people, pregnant women and those with existing respiratory or cardiac conditions, to limit outdoor exposure when air quality deteriorates. He recommended wearing protective masks and glasses, staying hydrated, and checking air-quality readings before traveling outdoors.

GOVERNMENT MEASURES

Pakistan blamed poor air quality this week on pollution drifting from neighboring India, where firecrackers set off during the Hindu festival of Diwali over the weekend blanketed much of the north in toxic smog.

Abdullah Nayyar, director-general of Punjab’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the provincial government had significantly expanded its capacity to monitor and control pollution over the past two years, with the number of air-quality monitoring stations rising from just two to around 81.

“Punjab used to be number one on yearly rankings (which rankings? any links or data?) just two years ago. Then it turned 5th and then 8th last year when the ranking was revealed.”

Nayyar said October was the “cleanest” month in five years, while enforcement against agricultural waste-burning had also improved.

“We have had the lowest stubble-burning cases in nine years this season so far,” he said, adding that authorities had verified and taken action in more than 320 cases, a 35 percent decline compared with the same period last year.

The government converted more than 8,000 brick kilns across Punjab to zigzag technology, which produces fewer emissions than conventional kilns. Industrial emissions compliance has increased to around 90 percent, according to Nayyar.

Vehicle emissions have been another focus of the provincial campaign, with the EPA testing around 2.5 million vehicles last year and the Lahore transport department testing more than 150,000 vehicles so far this year.

The EPA official said the government was expanding clean transport, with around 2,000 electric buses already provided all over the province and authorities aiming to increase the number to 5,000 by next year. The province has also planned a scheme to distribute around 100,000 electric bikes, he added.

SOLUTION

Environmental experts say tackling smog will require more than seasonal crackdowns, greater public participation and stronger regional cooperation.

“No government can control or minimize pollution on its own. Strong public participation and stringent laws will be helpful for sustainable management of smog,” Qadir said.

“We cannot completely blame any country. There must be transboundary coordination among South Asian countries. We have to develop environmental and smog diplomacy to control this problem.”