LAHORE: The Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR) held a discussion on Wednesday on ‘Lahore’s Smog Crisis: A Regional Approach’ where a panel of speakers identified what the actual environmental concerns were and what must be done about them.

Environmental lawyer Ahmed Rafay Alam moderated the discussion and began saying the governments in both India and Pakistan had tried to evade the problem of smog until they began to get more pressure. He said there was a distinct difference between the air pollution which happens the whole year through and smog which takes place specifically in winter months.

“At the same time the informal air quality monitors have showed how bad the air pollution levels have been lately, especially of PM2.5. In fact one of the highest he himself had measured was 315 micrograms (PM2.5),” he said.

Experts point out a lack of clarity, tools to meet the challenge

Ali Habib, Managing Partner at Hima Verte and former director general of the WWF-Pakistan, explained the specific issues about particulate matter especially PM2.5. “This is so minuscule (one fortieth of the cross section of human hair) that at times it enters lungs and lodges deep inside resulting in a congested cough,” he said.

He said there was no formal monitoring in Punjab, especially in parts other than Lahore, but the WHO monitors have shown that Lahore’s PM2.5 levels have been up to 6.8 times higher than specified levels. The WHO gives its limits of PM2.5 for up to 10 micrograms (maximum 15).

“The biggest sources of PM2.5 are rural kitchens which contribute to about 50pc of the levels, followed by vehicular emissions, crop residue burning, industrial smoke, open waste burning and diesel generation,” he said.

He said the ‘Smog Health Emergency Action Plan’ was not being fully followed by the EPD.

The government was represented by retired Capt Saif Anjum, Environment Protection Department secretary, who said there were no set lines about what was hazardous and what was not. “The Action Plan given by court has taken into account other countries and the fact of the matter remains that the level of pollutants in their air and ours is very different,” he said.

“We do not have tools, finances or staff, so we manage to work on one thing, that is, raise public awareness.”

He said they also sought the agriculture department help in stopping crop burning this year.

Dr Sanval Nasim, assistant professor of economics from LUMS, spoke about some policies being adopted the world over and which had worked for other countries and could be applied in Pakistan too. He said measures like tax on vehicles creating pollution, mandatory smog checks in cars, and an emphasis on public transportation could help improve the situation.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2017