Pakistan: Lahore Breaks All Pollution Records

The Pakistani city of Lahore has reached record levels of air pollution, more than 80 times higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers “acceptable.”

Lahore is a huge urbanized area with a population of 14 million people, and at this time of the year, the air becomes impossible to breathe, with each year the negative indicators worsening despite attempts by the authorities to combat this phenomenon.

Jahangir Anwar, Lahore’s environment official, explained to AFP that for several days the city had been shrouded in smog caused by the exhaust from substandard diesel engines, combustion fungus related to agriculture (burning stubble, a quick method of clearing fields even though it is banned), and atmospheric phenomena related to the time of year. Measures at the worst times include a ban on tuk-tuks with polluting two-stroke engines in some parts of the city, and many workers are being forced to stay home.

The situation is no better in neighboring India: Delhi is also shrouded in an annual blanket of toxic fumes, which, according to the Guardian, signals the start of the pollution season. There are 25 million people affected here. And Maryam Nawaz, Punjab’s chief minister in Pakistan, has reportedly suggested launching “smog diplomacy” between India and Pakistan to address the dangerously high levels of air pollution affecting both historically rival countries. “Smog is not a political problem, it’s a humanitarian problem. Air recognizes no boundaries between our two countries. It is impossible to fight smog unless both Punjabis take joint action.”