THREE of the five countries with the most polluted air on Earth are in South Asia. They include Pakistan, which has earned itself the unwanted bronze medal in the rankings, coming behind Chad in Africa and Bangladesh. The country’s annual average concentration of PM2.5 stands at a staggering 73.7 micrograms per cubic metre, according to the World Air Quality Report published by IQAir, a Swiss air-quality firm. That is nearly 15 times the level deemed acceptable by the WHO. The situation is particularly bad in urban centres. Lahore crossed the 100μg/m³ threshold for the first time since 2018. November saw five cities exceed 200μg/m³, while December recorded nine cities above 120μg/m³. Such toxic air had great ramifications: school closures, shuttered public spaces and hospitals overwhelmed with respiratory cases.

A noxious cocktail of factors drives this crisis. Agricultural stubble burning meets temperature inversions in winter months, trapping pollutants at ground level. Brick kilns, operating with antiquated technology, spew particulates skyward. Industrial facilities, many operating without proper emissions controls, add to the miasma. Vehicular emissions from ageing transport fleet further thicken the haze. Regional dynamics complicate matters. Pollution recognises no borders, and events like Diwali celebrations in India contribute to transboundary contamination. Yet pointing fingers across frontiers offers little relief to citizens choking on toxic air. The government’s response offers a case study in policy incoherence. Efforts to regulate brick kilns have been sporadic and poorly enforced. Public transport initiatives remain underfunded. Air quality monitoring networks are patchy at best, leaving citizens in an information vacuum about the dangers they face. What Pakistan needs is a national clean air policy that matches the scale of the crisis. Declaring air pollution an emergency would be a start, followed by the creation of a dedicated regulatory body with genuine enforcement powers. Market-based mechanisms could accelerate the adoption of cleaner technologies, complemented by stricter emissions standards. The farm sector requires alternatives to stubble burning, potentially through waste-to-energy programmes that turn a pollution problem into an opportunity. The economic costs of inaction are substantial. Lost productivity from illness, premature deaths and diminished cognitive function among children represent a drag on our already struggling economy. Pakistan must act decisively or resign itself to its citizens perpetually gasping for breath.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2025