Smog again
In what has
become an annual ritual for some years, Lahore and its environs are once again
in the grip of a thick cloud of smog that shows signs of getting worse.
Overcast skies, no sunshine and a dreary layer of smoke and dust have blurred
the city skyline. The phenomenon has been in evidence at the onset of winter
for some years now, with the Environment Protection Department (EPD) helpless
except to categorise it as the ‘fifth’ season and advising citizens to take precautionary
measures such as not remaining outdoors longer than absolutely necessary,
wearing helmets or masks while travelling, using public transport to the
maximum to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads and washing off the smog
grime as soon as possible to avoid skin irritation. While this advice is well
intentioned, what is of greater import is the EPD’s confession that it was
unable to control the smog last year. To that could be added that the EPD has
in fact not been able to do much about the smog ‘season’ ever since the
phenomenon began a few years ago. The European Space Agency (ESA) has declared
Lahore one of the world’s 50 Nitrogen Oxide hotspots. Nitrogen Oxide is the
major source of Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and Ozone, harmful air
pollutants that cause respiratory problems. It is estimated that 75,000
premature deaths worldwide per annum are caused by Nitrogen Oxide and its
derivatives PM2.5 and Ozone. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned
that 600,000 children under the age of 15 die worldwide every year because of
exposure to polluted air containing the ingredients above. The elderly too are
risk from the same phenomenon. The main source of these air pollutants is the
burning of fossil fuels. In the case of Lahore, ESA says the main sources of
Nitrogen Oxide are road transport (40 percent) and power generation (23
percent). To these may be added factories, brick kilns and garbage burning. But
while these are perennial sources, the seasonal culprit at the onset of winter
is crop stubble burning, both in Pakistani and Indian Punjab. While both these
sources inundate Lahore, the latter has made winters in New Delhi virtually
unlivable.
What has the EPD
done so far to control if not eliminate this menace? The only concrete step
appears to be to order the closure of brick kilns from November 3, except for
those kilns that have converted to the less polluting zigzag technology. While
the wholesale closure will affect the brick kiln business and the poorest of
the poor employed at them, this step only scratches the surface in the absence
of actions against crop stubble burning, polluting factories, vehicle
emissions, garbage burning, etc. In fact, when viewed holistically, the brick
kiln closure decision appears more of a knee jerk reaction to appear to be
doing something, rather than a well thought out plan to tackle the menace. The
smog phenomenon can only be tackled in the context of climate change (e.g. less
monsoon rainfall). Lahore’s roads have been widened endlessly in recent years
to accommodate the mushrooming number of vehicles being plied in the city. In
the process, precious trees have been chopped down mercilessly and, in the
absence of meaningful replanting, have removed a good proportion of the lungs
of the city that could absorb some if not all of the pollutants besmirching the
city’s air. Nor can any strategy of controlling pollution be considered
effective unless and until all the sources of pollution are tackled. First and
foremost, factories spewing pollutants into the air have to be regulated to
control their emissions through the latest technology. The traffic pollution on
the roads has to be lowered by investing in public transport. Garbage (all year
round) and crop stubble (seasonal) burning has to be strictly clamped down
upon. Brick kilns have to incrementally switch to the less polluting zig zag
technology. Last but not least, the lungs of the city have to be refurbished
through a serious replanting campaign. None of these measures are a one off
solution. They require dedicated and sustained efforts to ring in the necessary
changes. Only then will this man-made disaster abate.
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