Smog season

S mog has now been termed the fifth season in Pakistan, intensifying each winter especially in Punjab. This has an adverse effect on the health of citizens as it can lead to serious lung, heart and brain related illnesses in the long run. The situation has become so dire in major cities of Punjab that citizens have been requested to wear protection masks when travelling outside during the winter smog season.

In order to mitigate the effects this year, the Punjab government has decided to impose Section 144 across the province to ban the burning of crop residues and garbage. Moreover, anti-smog squads have been formed to crack down on industries and vehicles causing air pollution. If the initiative in taken in a wholesome manner, considering available literature on climate change, and remains corruption free, the country can witness a significant decrease in air pollution.

Also, there has long been a need to regulate industrial sites and the transport sector to curtail the amount of GHG and carbon being emitted. Timely action and continuous preventive measures by officials will indeed go a long way in the future and save lives. However, officials must realise that while this may ease some of the climate-related burden that Pakistan has been reeling with over the past few years, these efforts are only in place to curb immediate effects.

This is where officials must realise that the fight against climate change must occur on numerous fronts. A comprehensive plan implemented by a separate team of experts must be formulated to tackle long-term effects, which will be of more importance from a global perspective considering that climate change is a temporal phenomenon and not a sudden event. The right to breathe must be upheld at any cost for the people of Pakistan.