As air pollution reaches hazardous levels, a proposal has emerged for a “smog diplomacy” initiative between Pakistan’s Lahore and India.
As reported by Shah Meer Baloch in Lahore and Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi, the familiar signs of worsening air quality are taking a toll on Lahore’s residents. Symptoms like scratchy throats, burning eyes, and persistent coughs have become all too common.
Lahore, home to over 14 million, recently recorded some of the worst air quality worldwide, with pollution levels exceeding safe limits by up to 15 times. Last week, the city’s air quality index (AQI) skyrocketed above 700, while a “healthy” level is 50.
Delhi, just 260 miles from Lahore, is also engulfed in a thick layer of smog, marking the onset of “pollution season.” The city of over 25 million people remains in the “very poor” AQI category, as local governments in both cities have struggled to implement measures to curb the annual pollution crisis.
Residents like Jawaria, a master’s student in Lahore, note that the smog has become progressively more toxic, even arriving earlier than previous years. The shift from crisp winter air to hazardous smog has erased what used to be clear, sunny days.
A primary cause of the smog is stubble burning by farmers, an inexpensive method to clear fields, despite its illegality in both Pakistan and India. The Punjab government in Pakistan claims to have offered alternative options to farmers, but Khalid Khokhar, president of the farmers’ association, disputes this, saying they still lack affordable alternatives.
Additional pollution sources include industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, and construction dust, which become trapped over these regions during winter.
Acknowledging the shared air pollution problem, Maryam Nawaz, Punjab’s chief minister in Pakistan, recently suggested a joint “smog diplomacy” initiative with India. Nawaz emphasized that air pollution is a humanitarian issue, not a political one, stressing that air pollution knows no borders and that tackling smog will require cooperation across the two Punjabs. India has yet to respond to the proposal.
The health impacts of this annual smog are dire. According to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, pollution poses India’s greatest health risk, with Delhi residents losing an average of 8.5 years of life. Lahore historian Ammar Ali Jan stated that only the wealthy can afford the protection of air purifiers, describing it as a form of environmental apartheid. “We have turned Lahore and most of Punjab into a concrete jungle,” he said, calling it an “ecological catastrophe.”
At a Delhi clinic, Dr. Bidyarani Chanu observed a sharp rise in pollution-related illnesses, with around 60% of her patients affected, mostly children and elderly individuals. Shakeel Khan, a street vendor in Delhi, describes the pollution as “slow poison.” Recalling how his father, who never smoked, succumbed to lung disease, he noted that life on Delhi’s streets is fraught with invisible but deadly health risks.
