ver the past few years, smog has become a complicated issue for Lahore. There are many contributing factors to smog: emissions from vehicles and brick kilns, industrial pollution, coal-fired power plants, waste and dust from various construction projects, especially around the winter season, and so on.

Other contributors include the burning of crop stubble by farmers in Pakistan as well as in India. A part of smog in Lahore is attributed to polluted winds from across the border. India is also battling smog and the pendulum of worst air quality keeps shifting between Lahore and New Delhi.

Furthermore, waste management system in Lahore does not meet the standards of those in other developing countries of the world. Here, much of the municipal waste, especially solid waste, is burnt on vacant land spaces which results in air pollution and smog.

There was a time when the citizens of Lahore looked forward to winter months as a time when they would get respite from the hot and humid summers. In recent years, however, winters have meant — or are accompanied by — smog and/or fog. Winter smog brings with it air that is composed of poisonous elements, forcing people to shut themselves indoors. If you must step out, it’s advised that you use the facemasks. Or, you’ll be condemned to suffer from various sorts of nasal, throat and chest infections. You can engage in outdoor activities ‘at your own risk.’

Various road construction projects being carried out simultaneously in different parts of the city have only added to the problem. The dust and waste materials from construction sites further pollute the air. In October last year, the Lahore High Court advised LDA, “If you want to control smog, you have to prepare for it six months in advance.” The judge also said that before starting new construction the LDA must seek approval from the court. He also urged on the Environment Protection Department to pitch in with their insights.

It might be useful to take a leaf out of Japan’s book. Japan famously has a waste management system of the highest standard. The country recycles and re-uses most of its waste material, and has a very organised and systematic way of doing so. Garbage (in Japanese language, gomi) is classified into four main categories: burnable, non-burnable, recyclable and oversized waste. Japan incinerates the burnable waste in massive furnaces, rather than burning it outdoors in open spaces. This helps keep the air clean.

Among other examples, Beijing, a city that once topped AQI’s list of cities with worst air quality, has implemented comprehensive air pollution control programmes, besides expanding their urban rail network, integrating modern air quality monitoring networks, using advanced technologies such as High Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing and Laser Radar for precise identification of emissions at targeted times and areas.

Japan and the European Union have the most stringent vehicle emission laws in the world. In year 2000, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly approved an ordinance, the first in Japan, banning diesel vehicles in Tokyo, unless they meet an emission limit on carcinogenic particles. Japan now produces cars having devices installed to control and filter dangerous emissions.

Among other examples, Beijing, a city that once topped AQI’s list of cities with worst air quality, has implemented comprehensive air pollution control programmes, besides expanding their urban rail network, integrating modern air quality monitoring networks, using advanced technologies such as High Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing and Laser Radar for precise identification of emissions at targeted times and areas.

Beijing’s other achievements in the environment sector include the production of new energy vehicles, reduction of coal, improving heating systems and modernising their bus fleet. There are lots of lessons here for the Lahore’s administration to learn.

The COP28 climate summit, held in the UAE, endorsed phasing out of fossil fuel use and production, to save earth’s environment. Pakistan also needs to play its part by investing in green technologies and embracing stringent emission standards, electric rail networks and buses for public transport; and by following all methods adopted by a number of nations in the world, to curb air pollution and smog.

Leading environment lawyer and activist Ahmad RafayAlam, who attended the climate summit, tells TNS, “Political stakeholders must design a concrete plan to get to the roots of this matter. This can only be done by using cutting-edge devices for measuring and monitoring the exact amounts of pollutants in the air such as nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon, dust and volatile organic compounds on a daily basis.

“Governments don’t have huge amounts of capital. Therefore, they should take private sector on board to invest in cleaner technology and electric public transport system. This problem alone will take a good few years to resolve.”

He adds, “Installing air purification towers is not going to help much. Lockdowns, cleaning the roads, artificial rain with cloud seeding and arresting the poor and powerless farmers are no solutions either.”

The writer is a freelance journalist, currently visiting Japan