Daily Times

World Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) on Thursday urged the federal government to declare smog a ‘national health emergency’ to curb the current escalating crisis in the country.

The WWF-Pakistan in a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chairperson of the Pakistan Climate Change Council Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif outlined immediate and long-term measures to control the smog crisis, which has engulfed several cities across the country.

The organization called for the immediate closure of polluting industries and emphasized the need to extend the regulations of the ‘Green Lockdown’ to other areas of Lahore and other highly polluted cities. It also called for halting construction activities during the peak of the smog season, including the closure of brick kilns.

They called upon the quarters concerned to issue necessary orders to immediately remove high-emission vehicles from the roads.

Commenting on the smog issue, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General, WWF-Pakistan said that the government must take immediate, bold and decisive actions to address this emergency. The worsening air quality and persistent smog are serious issues not only for the people and the environment but also for the economy.

He appreciated the government’s efforts to tackle the smog issue but stressed the implementation of stricter actions in letter and spirit. “In the long run, there is a need to promote electric vehicles, enhance sustainable development models, segregate industrial zones, expand the mass transit network and switch to renewable energy sources,” he added.

Proposing long-term measures, WWF-Pakistan suggested for transition to Euro V or Euro VI fuel quality standards and accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Pakistan, especially two and three-wheelers, to significantly reduce vehicular emissions which are the leading contributor to fine particulate pollution.

It also stressed the expansion of the public transport network in metropolitan centres and urged the government to scale green financing, subsiding alternatives to the burning of crop residue.

Low-cost air quality sensors measure pollutants like PM1.0, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and O3 and can help identify pollution hotspots across the country. WWF-Pakistan strongly recommends the widespread use of these sensors to monitor air quality to inform smog-control measures. “The urgency of the situation cannot be overstated, as it directly impacts the health of millions of Pakistanis”, the letter stated. WWF-Pakistan and its associated team of environmental experts have been closely monitoring the situation, its causes, and its impact, and previously published a comprehensive set of recommendations to address the issue before it reached its current, critical state.

With the onset of the autumn season, smog has become the most pervasive environmental and health concern for the citizens of Pakistan. In collaboration with the IQAir Foundation, WWF-Pakistan is currently operating the largest network of low-cost air quality monitoring devices in the country, covering 15 cities. These devices have repeatedly reported AQI levels exceeding 1,000 in several cities in Punjab, with particulate matter regularly surpassing WHO guidelines by 30-40 times.