'Keep politics out of fight against smog'

LAHORE BUREAU —Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has stated that there should be no politics over smog, environmental protection and public health, as these issues concern the lives, health and future of millions of people. Highlighting the health impact of anti-smog measures, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that outpatient visits to primary healthcare facilities in the province for respiratory, chest and throat ailments had declined by 69 per cent as compared with 2023.

Addressing a media briefing on Wednesday, she said 9,000 industrial units had installled systems to monitor smoke emissions and 14,000 brick kilns had been converted to zigzag technology. The government has installed 59 industrial air quality monitors, while six million vehicles have obtained fitness certificates as part of efforts to reduce emissions, she added.

She said outpatient visits related to respiratory and lung diseases, asthma, and chest and throat infections had declined by 69% at primary healthcare facilities compared with 2023. At secondary-level hospitals, cases of related illnesses have decreased by 21%, according to government data. She said pollution carried by winds from India, Diwali fireworks and crop residue burning, coupled with low temperatures and slow wind speeds had also contributed to pollution spikes in the province.

The senior minister said the period between November 1 and 15 was critical for smog as temperature inversion, humidity, wind patterns and limited sunlight could contribute to the accumulation of pollutants in the atmosphere. She claimed stibble-burning incidents had declined by up to 27%, with a decline of 85% around Lahore.

The senior minister said a 10-year action plan to curb smog was being implemented in Punjab. She stressed that curbing air pollution required cooperation from citizens, farmers and industrialists alongside government measures. Meanwhile, the Punjab Environment Protection Agency's (EPA) analysis of air quality data from November 8 to 10 found evidence of polluted air moving from India into Pakistan, contributing to higher concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the province.

An assessment of air movement, satellite observations and readings from monitoring stations showed that nearly 50% of Punjab had been exposed to air masses originating from India during the preceding 24 hours and 39% during 12 hours from 6:00am on November 9. Punjab Environment Protection Secretary Salwat Saeed said aerosol optical depth levels observed in both Lahore and Amritsar had supported the assessment that polluted air had moved across the border into Pakistan.