Unwavering smog

The air quality of Punjab and specifically of Lahore has persistently been worst over the last two months. A mixture of smoke and fog has engulfed the city for months now keep Lahore at the top of the chart among the world’s most polluted cities. The caretaker government claims to have been able to reduce smog as compared to the previous year, but ground realities seem different. Smog has become an escalating winter threat for Lahore, and the situation has aggravated every year over the past six years.

Weather experts say that the continuous dry cold weather has been a factor is prolonged smog in the city. Fog and no rains have been key components of the weather conditions in Lahore. Health expert say that prolonged smoggy conditions have sickened tens of thousands of residents. Lahore has seen record health issues related to smog, and the extreme cold weather has exacerbated the situation this year with rising cases of Asthma and Pneumonia.

Actions by the authorities including school closures, factory shutdowns, industrial raids, and artificial rain have all gone in vain. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Lahore continues to be in “very unhealthy to hazardous” range for most days on average.

The non-health impact of smog in terms of growth and development range from school absenteeism, children brain development, worker absenteeism, and impact of their cognitive and decision-making capabilities – all of which are of least concern to the authorities it seems – and all of which impact productivity and economic growth.

Which such burden of the menace on growth and human capital, why is it that nothing concrete is being achieved to combat it? Successive governments have failed to address smog issue comprehensively because of ad hoc decisions and poor governance – and the issue is much less likely to be on top of the priority ladder for the caretaker government despite what they claim. Unplanned, random and inconclusive restrictions, bans and steps taken to address the situation do not solve the problem. There is a need for empowerment and accountability of the local and district level bodies as well as comprehensive yet accommodative agricultural, industrial, transport and urban planning policies that take after the efforts made in countries that have successfully addressed this issue.