Daily Times

Midst the political crises that loom large, the government is also being crippled by climate issues. Lahore has suffered the worst as the most perilous smog has been recorded so far this year. It impelled Punjab government to give a break (not to its heedlessness towards climate change, but) to school-going children. The hazardous smog has become a grave issue and triggered a debate in civil society. The situation has become panic-stricken since this is the very first time that schools were forced to close down for the second time in the same month due to smog.

The tale is not over yet. The Minister for Climate Change proclaimed recently that data collected by different agencies on air pollution in Lahore was inaccurate, fabricated and manoeuvred. It stirred Twitter to try to persuade her that the data might be inaccurate, but the smog is real. With 861 AQI recorded, Lahore became the worst city in the world in terms of air quality.

The air quality of Lahore begs a question that will the city be under a siege of smog as the winter advances? Yes, if the government’s approach stays stagnant. Smog is a complex weather phenomenon. Due to pollution, an invisible layer develops that hinders the escape of warm air along with pollutants. So, the pollutants return to air that we inhale. It exacerbates in winters.

Lahore High Court took suo motto in 2017 when severe smog covered the entire Lahore and summoned Environment Protection Department (EPD). The officials of EPD replied that crop burning was taking place in various parts of India, which caused smog in Lahore. Though crop burning is attributed to the major cause of smog, contrarily, it is certainly not. Perhaps, this blame-game is exercised just to settle scores with India. But blame is not an antidote. Research has validated that crop burning is not a new practice as it has been in practice since 200 BC. If crop burning is the only contributor–as perceived by the government–why has smog become a hot topic in Lahore for the last four to five years? Also, Pakistan is agricultural land, and burning crops has always been there.

Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (an executive agency of the Government of Pakistan managed by the Ministry of Climate Change) collaborated with Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN and released a report, titled, “What are the causes of smog in Lahore?”

It found out that the main contributing agent of smog was the transport sector of Lahore. The outrageous vehicle traffic in Lahore has damaged the air quality in the last 15 years. The poor public transport system compels people to travel by personal conveyance that exponentially multiply the emission of poisonous gases from vehicles. The public transport system still relies on old vehicles that should have been replaced long ago. These old vehicles have no catalytic converters to mitigate toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysing a redox reaction.

Secondly, extremely poor quality of diesel (euro 2) is still in use in Pakistan. Euro 4 is being used in India while Europe uses euro 5. Studies show euro 2 contains 500 ppm of sulphur while euro 5 contains 50 ppm of sulphur. Moreover, the incomplete combustion of sulphur is also the main contributor. This converts into sulphur dioxide that if inhaled into lungs for some time, it circulates through blood; damages lungs and brain and causes growth stunting and miscarriages in pregnant females.

Unfortunately, it is a colossal political and moral failure of previous governments who haven’t devised any policy on climate change. Rather, they deemed it a trivial and transient issue. Jarring the government’s heedlessness, it was climate activists and civil society that came out on roads and gave a wake-up call to the legislators in slumber. In 2015, the first protest that took place in front of the EPD office in Lahore where many women protested against unhealthy air in Lahore. A petition was also registered in LHC on smog that its emission causing agents were not mitigating.

The outrageous vehicle traffic in Lahore has damaged the air quality in the last 15 years

Smog hasn’t evolved in just a few days. It is the product of a vicious pollution cycle. So, the remedy will not outpace the problem. Firstly, the vehicle restriction policy should be introduced by the government. Indonesia implemented a policy that at least four persons must be sitting in a car if it has to travel on a highway. Secondly, there is no retirement age for vehicles being used in Lahore. These vehicles ought to be monitored regularly and replaced through a policy. Thirdly, brick kilns are also the stimulus for producing smog. Entrepreneurs can play a momentous role in transforming obsolete brick making techniques with modern technology.

Fourthly, until the smog issue isn’t curbed, the government must launch awareness campaigns among general masses. Precautionary measures should be circulated through social media to make parents aware. Meanwhile, the opposition is obliged to keep mounting pressure on the government to take bold and concrete steps to resolve this horrific issue.

Fifthly, a climate emergency is needed. This issue must be discussed by legislators, and a tangible policy should be brought forth. Mere close monitoring is not a solution.

Pakistan has been declared vulnerable to climate change. Previously, we had IDPs due to terrorism. If the cities will be under floods and smog, there will be climate refugees, predicted to be greater than what terrorism has displaced. This huge influx of displaced people might stimulate another war. During a protest against climate change in Lahore, a young girl was holding a placard, which read, “You will die of old age. We will die of climate.”

The writer is a lecturer at Superior University, Lahore. He is also a youth correspondent to Commonwealth in Pakistan