Winter Hasn't Arrived Yet, but Smog Has: Tackling Smog in Pakistan

If you live in Pakistan, especially Punjab, you know that smog often welcomes you long before winter does. The mornings may still feel like autumn, but the familiar grey haze has already begun to settle over the city, turning clear skies into a warning sign.

The grey skies we see are not merely a seasonal change. They are a reminder of the quality of the air surrounding us. Every year, as smog returns to Lahore and other parts of Punjab, it raises an important question: How can we protect ourselves and our families when the air outside becomes a health risk?

While tackling air pollution requires collective action and long-term environmental solutions, there are practical steps each of us can take to reduce exposure and stay safer during smog season.

Understanding the Smog Around Us

Smog is a mixture of air pollutants, including fine particulate matter and other harmful substances that can affect the air we breathe. In Pakistan, several factors contribute to poor air quality, including vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, brick kilns, construction dust, crop-residue burning, and the burning of waste and other fuels. Weather conditions, such as low wind speeds and temperature inversions, can trap pollutants close to the ground, allowing smog to build up.

Climate change can further complicate the problem by influencing weather patterns and the conditions under which pollution accumulates. However, smog is not caused by climate change alone; local emissions and regional pollution also play important roles.

According to the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) publication Tackling Smog in Pakistan: Causes, Impacts, and Way Forward, transport is a major contributor to smog formation in large urban areas, including Lahore. The report highlights the need for better emissions monitoring, stronger environmental regulation, and cooperation between relevant institutions.

Understanding these causes is the first step towards meaningful smog awareness. The next is recognising what polluted air means for our health and everyday lives.

How Smog Is Affecting Pakistanis

Smog is more than an environmental problem. It is a serious public-health concern that can affect our lungs, heart, eyes, throat, and overall well-being.

Exposure to polluted air can cause irritation, coughing, and breathing difficulties. It can also worsen asthma and other existing respiratory conditions. Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and other serious health problems. Children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with pre-existing medical conditions may face additional risks.

According to the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) webinar report Tackling Smog in Pakistan: Causes, Impacts, and Way Forward, more than 500 patients a day were reportedly admitted in Lahore due to smog, around 15% of whom were children. This reflects the growing burden of smog-related illnesses on families and healthcare services, particularly among children and other vulnerable groups.

The consequences extend beyond hospitals. Schools may close during severe smog episodes, outdoor activities can be restricted, and people who work outside may struggle to protect their health while earning a living. Families may also face additional expenses when seeking medical care.

Clean air is therefore not simply an environmental issue; it is a matter of public health, education, livelihoods, and quality of life.

Beyond the Statistics: The Lived Experience of Smog

Behind every air-quality reading is a person trying to get through an ordinary day. For some Lahore residents, smog means irritated eyes, persistent coughing, difficulty exercising outdoors, or worrying about a child's breathing. For others, it means travelling to work through polluted traffic or spending hours outside with limited opportunities to escape the haze.

The Lahore Smog Collective's archive offers a platform for exploring lived experiences and personal perspectives on the city's smog crisis. People from Lahore, the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, different parts of Punjab, and even areas beyond Punjab have shared how smog has affected them personally in their day-to-day lives. Areesha Khan shared on the platform “Smog made me sick and miss important classes and quizzes”.

These accounts bring attention to the human side of environmental change, reminding us that the effects of air pollution are felt differently across communities, shaping people's daily routines, health, mobility, and overall quality of life.

A report published by Geo News in November 2024 described the experience of Aneeqa, a Lahore resident who regularly cycled around the city. During a ride on a heavily polluted day, she began feeling dizzy and nauseated, experienced breathing difficulties, and was taken to hospital. Her experience highlighted the difficult reality of trying to enjoy ordinary outdoor activities in a city where air quality can become hazardous.

In a 2021 report by Deutsche Welle, Lahore resident Momina Rajput described leaving the city with her young daughter after experiencing repeated coughing and breathing difficulties. She told the publication that a pulmonologist had diagnosed her with acute asthma and advised her that she could not remain in Lahore during smog season.

These are individual experiences, not a reflection of every resident's circumstances, but they show how deeply air pollution can disrupt people's lives. They also highlight an important inequality: not everyone has the option to stay indoors, leave the city, or stop working when smog levels rise. Street vendors, traffic wardens, delivery riders, sanitation workers, and other outdoor workers may have particularly limited choices.

Listening to these experiences is an important part of any smog awareness campaign. They help us understand why air pollution must be addressed not only through personal precautions but also through community support and sustained environmental action.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Family

We cannot eliminate smog overnight, but we can take steps to reduce our exposure and make safer choices during periods of poor air quality.

From Individual Protection to Collective Action

Personal precautions matter, but lasting improvement requires action at a much broader level.

Communities can help by avoiding the burning of rubbish, disposing of waste responsibly, sharing reliable air-quality information, and supporting local environmental initiatives. Schools, workplaces, and community organisations can spread awareness about the health hazards of smog and help vulnerable people access practical protection.

At the institutional level, stronger emissions monitoring, enforcement of environmental standards, cleaner transport, improved industrial pollution controls, and better management of construction dust are essential. Regional cooperation is also important because air pollution does not always remain within administrative or national borders.

Climate change and environmental change require long-term planning, but we should not overlook the immediate need to reduce pollution from sources that can be addressed today.

Alkhidmat on Combating Smog

Through its Sarsabz Pakistan initiative, Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan promotes tree plantation, environmental awareness, and community participation to help build a greener and healthier Pakistan and to cope Climate change. In May 2023, Alkhidmat, in collaboration with the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), launched the Smog-Free Lahore campaign, during which approximately 3,000 volunteers planted 15,000 saplings across seven acres of land near Lahore Airport. The Foundation has also partnered with educational institutions and environmental organisations on large-scale plantation drives, including the One Million Tree Plantation Drive launched in Lahore in 2024 with the University of Lahore and Chaoon Foundation.

Free Medical and Respiratory Camps: During peak smog seasons, respiratory problems and eye irritation become greater concerns, particularly for children, older adults, and people with existing health conditions. Alkhidmat's healthcare services are an important part of its wider commitment to community well-being. Through free medical and eye camps, where available, vulnerable communities can access basic medical attention and guidance on managing health concerns. These services highlight the importance of supporting people's health while working towards a cleaner environment.

While tree plantation helps expand urban green spaces, tackling smog also requires reducing emissions, preventing waste burning, promoting cleaner transport, controlling industrial pollution, and strengthening environmental responsibility. Through Sarsabz Pakistan and its wider environmental and healthcare efforts, Alkhidmat aims to encourage communities to play an active role in protecting the environment and supporting healthier lives.

Students and young people have a particularly important role to play in this mission. Alkhidmat invites students, youth, and community members to participate in its plantation drives and environmental initiatives whenever the Foundation puts out a call. By volunteering, planting and caring for trees, spreading awareness about the health hazards of smog, and supporting community well-being, young people can help turn environmental concern into meaningful action. Together, we can nurture a culture of responsibility and contribute to a greener Pakistan where clean air and access to healthcare are valued as essential parts of a healthy life.

A Breath of Fresh Air Shouldn't Be a Luxury

Smog is more than a seasonal inconvenience. It affects how we travel, work, study, exercise, and care for our families. Its consequences can be seen in health concerns, disrupted routines, and the experiences of residents who simply want to enjoy their city without worrying about the air they breathe.

Checking the AQI, wearing a suitable respirator, improving indoor air quality, and adjusting outdoor activities can help us protect ourselves. Sharing reliable information and participating in smog awareness campaigns can help others make informed choices, too.

But individual precautions must go hand in hand with effective environmental policies, stronger pollution controls, and collective responsibility.

As Pakistan enters another smog season, let us protect our health while working towards a cleaner environment.

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