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NASA satellite images of fires and smog taken on Nov 6, 2024 - Source NASA |
What Can Pakistan Do to Cut Toxic Smog in Lahore?
By Riaz Haq
CA
Citizens of Lahore have been choking from dangerous levels of toxic smog for weeks now. Schools have been closed and outdoor activities, including travel and transport, severely curtailed to reduce the burden on the healthcare system. Although toxic levels of smog have been experienced at this time of the year for more than a decade, this year appears to be particularly bad with hundreds of people hospitalized to treat breathing problems. Millions of Lahoris have seen their city's air quality index (AQI) cross the 1,000 mark several times this month - anything above 300 is considered dangerous. What can Pakistan do to cut this level of air toxicity? Is there a silver bullet here? Let's try and understand the root causes of this problem to answer these questions.
South Asia is particularly susceptible to pollutants that hang in the air for extended periods. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite images show dull gray haze hovering over northern India and Pakistan, and parts of Bangladesh. It is believed that emissions from solid fuel burning, industrial pollutants, and farm clearing fires get trapped along the southern edge of the Himalayas in wintertime. NASA Earth Observatory explains this phenomenon as follows:
"The haze.... likely results from a combination of agricultural fires, urban and industrial pollution, and a regional temperature inversion. Most of the time, air higher in the atmosphere is cooler than air near the planet’s surface, and this configuration allows warm air to rise from the ground and disperse pollutants. In the wintertime, however, cold air frequently settles over northern India, trapping warmer air underneath. The temperature inversion traps pollutants along with warm air at the surface, contributing to the buildup of haze."
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Trapped smog in Lahore - source Aljazeera |
The single biggest factor contributing to heavy smog in the October-November period each year in Indian and Pakistani Punjab is the lighting of a huge number of fires to burn agricultural waste to clear the land for planting winter crops. The Indian government estimates that 38% of the smog in the Indian capital New Delhi comes from stubble burning in Punjab. Government policies are needed to incentivize the widespread use of machines to remove agricultural waste. This can be accomplished by subsidizing the purchase and/or rental of these machines in both India and Pakistan. There should also be heavy fines imposed on those farmers who insist on setting fires to clear the land.
Other factors, such as emissions from vehicles and industrial units, also require better regulations and stricter enforcement. Coal-burning units such as brick kilns and cement factories should be moved further away from the population centers. Such measures can significantly cut toxic smog affecting people's health and productivity in the Punjab region straddling the India-Pakistan border. It will be helpful if Indian and Pakistani authorities can work together to solve this common problem.
(Riaz Haq is a Silicon Valley-based Pakistani-American analyst and writer. He blogs at www.riazhaq.com)
