According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), seven million people die due to air pollution across the world, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan. After all, our Air Quality Index (AQI) rating in the last few days has been over 400, signaling an extremely toxic atmosphere that amplifies the odds of developing lung damage, chronic cough, bronchitis, wheezing, and even depression. But the sad reality is that these are circumstances that we have brought upon ourselves through an apathetic attitude towards air pollution, severe neglect of environmental policies, and unregulated development.
It is not as though smog is a relatively new phenomenon; every year, we go through the same discourse and activists issue warnings and while the authorities choose to do little to prevent or manage it, the quality of air keeps getting worse. Lahore specifically has been topping the charts when it comes to global rankings of air pollution. Authorities have pledged to install air monitors and implement carbon-reduction policies but we are yet to see this promise materialise.
Even so, our priorities have still not been set straight. Sure, monitors will allow us to track pollution levels but we already know how devastating of a problem smog is. What we need is policy action and strict implementation because otherwise, claims made blaming other governments at Conference of Parties (COP) summits hold little weight. If we are not able to regulate our own climate and implement state-level policies that are relatively easy and minor in comparison to global carbon-reducing pledges, then we lose the credibility of our claim.
As of right now, 43 percent of all air pollution in Pakistan is contributed by transportation, 25 percent by industry and 20 percent by agriculture. All three sectors should be relatively easy to regulate; electric or low carbon producing cars should be sold and a cap can be implemented per household, illegal plants must be shut down and carbon production from formalised industries must be capped, and crop burning has always been an activity that has been heavily criticised for not only being destructive to the environment but ineffective. Development must also continue but within the bounds of being sustainable. Lahore has been stripped of all its green cover for infrastructure development, especially to accommodate the obnoxious number of cars in the metropolitan area.
The government is directly responsible for the people and their lives. Taking strict measures now and upholding promises to reduce carbon emissions will save future generations from a poor and disease-ridden quality of life.