Pakistan Smog Crisis Escalates to Unimaginable Levels: Relentless Activist Fights Against Devastating Pollution Visible from Space

Pakistan smog crisis poses a severe health risk, particularly to young children, who are most vulnerable to air pollution due to their smaller lungs, lack of developed immunities, and faster breathing rates. UNICEF’s Abdullah Fadil emphasized that children inhale more air relative to their body size and often through their mouths, allowing pollutants to bypass natural nasal filters and contribute to life-threatening respiratory diseases.

Pakistan smog crisis has prompted authorities to crack down on significant sources of pollution. In a bid to reduce emissions, they have been inspecting vehicle exhaust emissions, shutting down brick kilns that release thick black smoke, and closing plastic-melting plants. Local media reported that in Lahore’s Model Town area, several food outlets were also closed due to excessive smoke emissions. An official statement warned that violators of these restrictions would face penalties.

Pakistan smog crisis has led to the announcement of a “green lockdown” until November 17, when authorities will reassess its impact on air quality. Beyond the lockdown, Environment Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has taken an unprecedented step by calling on neighboring India to join Pakistan in a cross-border smog mitigation plan—a move the local press has dubbed “smog diplomacy.” Cross-border agricultural practices contribute to the pollution, as farmers in both countries burn crop stubble in winter to clear fields for new planting, generating smoke that drifts across borders. Critics, however, argue that Pakistan’s government has long blamed this external smoke, potentially overlooking the need for stricter control of local emissions that are key contributors to the ongoing air quality crisis.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Record-Breaking Air Quality Index Threatens Public Health as AQI Surges Beyond 2,000

To gauge the scope of Pakistan’s smog crisis, just look at the numbers: an Air Quality Index of 300 to 500 is considered “hazardous” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and tells citizens to stay indoors to preserve lungs at those levels. The AQI measures fine particulate matter in the air-the microscopic particles that turn the sky gray or even black. Yet by November 5, it had hit over 1,000 in Lahore, Pakistan. Four days later, on November 8, the AQI in Multan, a city more than 200 miles south of Lahore, jumped as high as 2,000.
AHL Circular Quay – photo collage –

Leading the charge against this crisis is Ahmad Rafay Alam, an environment lawyer based in Lahore who has become one of the country’s leading clean air advocates. In 2003, Alam co-founded Saleem, Alam & Co., a consultancy firm dealing with sustainable energy, water, and natural resource management in urban areas. Alam consults closely with the provincial governments of Pakistan, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, and various international non-profits to offer expert advice on environmental policy and sustainability initiatives with the aim of mitigating growing air quality concerns for the country.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Environmental Lawyer Ahmad Rafay Alam on the “Apocalyptic Smog” Enveloping Lahore

From a recent video interview with Global Hub 360, environmental lawyer Ahmad Rafay Alam spoke about the overwhelming air pollution strangling Lahore. The interview was edited to be brief and clear and delves into the harsh realities of life under what news outlets have described as “apocalyptic smog that is baffling authorities.”

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Alam was asked whether such alarming reports were true. “Yes, the reports are true. My city is unlivable, and I’m still coming to terms with that. It hurts,” he said. For Alam, who spent nearly a decade cracking down on air pollution in Lahore and other cities of Pakistan, it is deeply painful to see that pollution levels have risen to unprecedented levels. “To see it get worse and worse to this point of the worst I have ever seen—it’s a tragedy.”

Alam also talked of what life is like in a city where the AQI often crosses 1,000 – a level almost unimaginable to people in countries that have cleaner air. “It’s terrible,” he said, underlining the fight every day for millions of Lahore residents under the toxic haze of the air. His words underscore how much international awareness and support Pakistan really needs while fighting this environmental crisis.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Lahore becomes unbearable to stay at as its smog sticks on the skin all the time. You eyes are continuously watery and when you see through the window, once blue horizon now covered with a thin light grayish haze. It drowns the sky completely reminding us that pollution stays in the air long afterward. It smells like inhaling charcoal ash, making each breath agony.

This smog crisis in Pakistan is devastating-to-its-essence level impacts on everyday life. Schools have been compelled to shut up shop, and public spaces have now become no-go zones. Parks and recreational areas, once safe havens for some reprieve, are now completely shut down and left vacant of any respite for the residents. People, in the meantime, end up getting imprisoned inside because life-threatening conditions are prevalent as a result of this toxic air.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Lahore-Islamabad Motorway Closed Due to Widespread Pollution

Pakistan Smog Crisis: the pollution level in Punjab has reached such an extent that it has shut down the motorway linking Lahore with Islamabad. The thick smog became so hazardous to drive upon that it proved dangerous to continue the journey. Such is the spread that it has affected transportation and daily life beyond the region.

Even in hazardous conditions, my 18-year-old daughter and I went out yesterday. We had visited some of the venues for the Lahore Biennale-a contemporary art exhibition which came with the theme “Of the Mountains and Seas,” focusing on ecologies and climate change. Ironically, its last weekend was in matching dangers of pollution in their cities. Fifteen minutes into going outside, my daughter started feeling a headache. Most people cannot catch their breath, and I am not an exception, given that I have an air purifier running in my office 24/7 to mitigate the air quality.

Thus, the pollutant has a huge ramification on the life of every citizen of any country, especially on the most vulnerable groups. Last January, more than 240 children died in Punjab from pneumonia, a respiratory disease. This underlines the dangers that smog poses to public health, particularly among vulnerable populations.

Pakistan Smog Crisis hits the poor most as they cannot afford protection against the toxic air. They are also the ones most exposed to pollution and the least able to afford air purifiers or any protective measures against pollution.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Pollution primarily from transportation and industry are the significant sources in and around Lahore. Although data for all of the areas being discussed is unavailable, data accessible suggest that about 45% of yearly air pollution is attributed to tailpipe emissions from motorized vehicles such as cars, trucks, rickshaws, and motorbikes, while much of the remaining emissions arise due to fuel of poor quality that is consumed in the transport sector

Additionally, approximately 40% of the pollution arises from industrial emission and energy generation. Controlling these sources will prove crucial for short-term measures, which will further be important for a long-term solution that can help in improving air quality in this region over time.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: To control the smog, qualitative fuel improvement, refinery upgrade, and renewable energy transition are a must for Lahore, in large, qualitative fuel improvement. These are not one night solutions. Refinery upgrades, renewable energy transition, and the inclusion of industries in cleaner practices all require years of investment. Long term solutions they are, costly ones.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Regulation of seasonal crop burning, which causes most of the pollution, can be a challenge in itself. Changing the mindset of farmers is not an easy task as till date they see stubble burning as the cheapest way to clear the fields. All these are necessary and happen together over an extended period, so we will only be able to see some improvement now.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Not much we can do in short terms other than wish for some rain. Long-term solutions are under way, but the immediate fix is out of our hands. Air might be cleaned up quickly only by natural changes like rainfall that can help wash away some of those toxic particles.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: While the fact that pollution has risen this season has generated a lot of confusion, especially among authorities in trying to detect the root cause of the rise, in so far as mainstream sources of pollution are concerned, it is the vehicle emissions and industrial output, which apparently remain stationary throughout the year. Seasonal factors seem to be the cause of the crisis.

According to several theories over the strange intensity of this year’s smog, another exceedingly pertinent one is in relation to seasons. Between April and May, the heat pushes the hot air upwards while cooler air sinks down, thus dispersing pollution. Then, between June and September, the monsoon season also assists in the washing away of some of the pollutants in the atmosphere.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: However, when monsoon season gets over, pollution is there and gets worse. The crisis begins when the temperatures drop between late October through March; the cool air traps pollution closer to the ground, and it becomes more visibly apparent, increasing overall effects.

Of all the sources of smog pollution, perhaps the most long-standing source is burning leftover paddy stalks by farmers in Pakistan as well as India to clear fields for the next planting season. The smoke from these crops is a major contributor to the smog; however, potential solutions like using fungi to dissolve the stalks abound. Implementing them on a large scale has been challenging.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Without doing so, the smog-curse of seasonal behaviors is likely to continue in the region.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: India tried several remedies, including offering subsidies to the farmers, promoting diets of millet rather than rice and wheat to reduce both their consumption, and even researching how crop residues could be used as a biomass fuel. The country has also attempted other measures such as detaining farmers or the solution of Happy Seeders, the special tractors that help clear fields much quicker. Still, the problem persists and needs focused long-term attention. No one solution can work—a myriad of initiatives, introduced year after year, is required to deal with the problem.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: The solutions to air pollution reside in governance and official policies. The continuing air pollution crisis that persists in India and Pakistan emanates from it – again, poor governance. The elected officials have been unable to keep abreast of the scope of the problem and its myriad sources. It will require more than policy changes to fix this; institutional change must occur, which takes time and money.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: Solutions to this form of air pollution are long-term and require time and money. It is well past the average 5-year election cycle challenge, but given the political instability in Pakistan, it seems unlikely that much real change will occur soon. In-fighting and military interference have ensured that elected politicians never focus on the pressing needs of their constituents as so much attention has been diverted toward survival and a need to sustain themselves in power.

It’s not just a domestic issue for Pakistan-the problem of air pollution is a regional crisis. Satellite data show a constant haze stretching from Kabul in Afghanistan to Dhaka in Bangladesh, which clearly shows that smog has no borders. Consequently, the scale of the problem being quite large, it will certainly require regional co-operation.

The SAARC Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution, adopted in 1998, calls upon South Asian countries to cooperate over air quality, strengthen monitoring, and share data. Till date, though, the initiative hasn’t gone too far. It’s hard to imagine any meaningful regional agreement on air pollution, given the current tension between India and Pakistan, so cooperation will still be challenging in dealing with this crisis.

What describes your attitude best? Deeply pessimistic about things ever changing? Guardedly optimistic? You say you don’t see change happening easily. Yet you’re still pushing for policy measures.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: “I try not to take it personally,” the activist says. Among a committed corps of concerned citizens-with his fellow employees and, more broadly, the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative-an activist contends against the smog. They are heroes for him even in their work with limited amount of progress.

The Pakistan Smog Crisis: They’ve had a say in every single possible way over the years. They have published their articles, appeared on their favorite TV channels, and produced their blogs. Friends have even made a feature-length documentary to try to get the word out. Then there have been protests, sit-ins, and rallies to move things forward.

Pakistan Smog Crisis: It has taken it to the High Court for filing public interest litigations and to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It has addressed the Senate and National Assembly’s standing committees on climate change and human rights. For all this, nothing has changed.

The Pakistan smog crisis: “I am slightly frustrated,” he concedes. Despite their relentless campaigning, progress remains elusive, and they are left to face the hard reality that their efforts so far have brought little change in Pakistan’s air quality crisis.

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