Waking up to a sky the colour of ash has become Lahore’s new reality. With air pollution at hazardous levels the city is suffocating, but will anyone take responsibility before it’s too late?
In this post, Purniya Awan, Global Souths Hub’s Contributing Editor and Social Media Manager, examines the personal and collective effects of Lahore’s toxic air pollution. She speaks with environmental lawyers and climate activists – Rafay Alam (Environment Lawyer and Climate Activist), Sara Hayat (Climate Change Specalist), and Ameera Adil (Founder and Director of Climate Foresight Pakistan) – to gain insight into the crisis, with all urging immediate action to address the country’s escalating pollution.
Every year, as winter approaches, the air in Pakistan’s Lahore thickens with a toxic haze. It’s a familiar feeling: stepping outside and immediately feeling the weight of the air, thick with dust and pollutants, as if breathing has become an act of endurance rather than instinct. The city’s smog crisis has become an annual fixture, growing worse with each passing year, turning everyday activities into a struggle for clean air. It’s a problem I know all too well, living in the heart of Lahore – a city already vulnerable to the catastrophic effects of climate change.
I am not alone in this experience. Millions of Lahoris face the daily challenge of navigating this choking air as we move about the city. But the truth is, the effects of this smog aren’t limited to just the occasional inconvenience. It’s a health crisis, a mental burden, and a visible reminder of how environmental degradation is increasingly affecting the lives of those who least contribute to it.
Hundreds of individuals had been hospitalised after several days of unprecedented smog in Lahore, Pakistan. In response, the government had instructed the closure of all primary schools in the area and established a crisis management team to address the pollution emergency.
Source: Al Jazeera English
Children were also impacted as schools were closed for weeks in November 2024 disrupting their learning cycle. A provincial committee declared a “critical air pollution event” in Lahore, citing the poor air quality, along with school closures, authorities advised parents to ensure children wear masks and stay indoors as much as possible, the government also issued work-from-home mandates and the government also implemented a “green lockdown” which included banning rickshaws, halting construction activities, and advising people to stay indoors, which ultimately affected people’s livelihoods on the daily.
The Smog: A Growing Crisis
Lahore, once a city of gardens, has become one of the world’s most polluted cities. In November 2023, Lahore’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was consistently among the highest in the world. According to IQAir World Air Quality Report (subject to live updates), the AQI crossed the 600 mark, far surpassing what is considered hazardous for health. For context, an AQI of 150 is considered unhealthy for sensitive individuals, and anything above 300 is classified as hazardous. On several occasions, Lahore ranked as the most polluted city globally, with residents choking on particulate matter (PM2.5), a fine pollutant that can infiltrate the lungs and bloodstream, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, along with nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, and sulphur dioxide.
The major contributors to Lahore’s air pollution include vehicular emissions, industrial pollutants and crop burning in surrounding areas. This combination creates a thick, almost impenetrable smog that lingers for days, especially during the winter months when cooler temperatures trap the pollutants near the ground. The effects are not only visible but deadly.
According to a recent air quality report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), estimates up to 235,000 premature deaths per year in Pakistan occur due to poor air quality. Furthermore, “The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) indicates that Lahore residents lose approximately 7.5 years of life expectancy because of extremely unhealthy air.”
More than a Local Issue
But Lahore is not alone. Delhi, the capital of our neighbouring country India, suffers from a very similar, if not worse, air quality crisis. In fact, Dehli’s AQI also surpassed 600 multiple times, frequently making it one of the most polluted cities in the world. Like Lahore, Delhi faces the dual problem of vehicular emissions and agricultural burning, with farming states setting fire to crop stubble, creating large-scale pollution that drifts into the city. In fact, many cities across South Asia – such as Dhaka, Kathmandu, and Colombo – have been battling similarly dangerous air quality, exacerbating public health crises in the region.
This is not just a local issue. South Asia is now facing an air pollution crisis that transcends national borders, driven by rapid industrialisation, deforestation, and farming practices. South Asia is home to 9 of the world’s 10 cities with the worst air pollution, which causes an estimated 2 million premature deaths across the region each year. Air pollution can also have significant effects on productivity and economic costs. The World Bank has also warned that air pollution in South Asia could cost the region up to $3 trillion per year by 2050, undermining development efforts and straining public health systems.
As a woman living in Lahore, this has become more than just a public health issue – it’s deeply personal. I can no longer run simple errands without feeling the sting of the air in my chest. On some days, my eyes burn, my throat tightens, and my head throbs with a dull ache that lingers long after I’ve retreated indoors. The smog has become an invisible force that invades every aspect of life-work, leisure, even rest. It follows me, a constant reminder that the air around me is not what it used to be.
The Gendered Impact of Pollution
While the smog affects everyone in Lahore, women, especially those who are caretakers or spend time outdoors, are often the most vulnerable. Women bear the dual burden of managing household responsibilities (such as cooking) and looking after the health of their families. This includes managing the health of children and elderly relatives who are even more susceptible to the pollutants in the air.
Furthermore, we’ve seen how harmful air pollution can be for our health, particularly for pregnant women. Evidently, breathing in pollutants has been linked to more pregnancy complications and a higher risk of pregnancy loss. This is especially concerning in developing countries, where pollution is often more intense. Pallavi Pant, senior scientist, Health Effects Institute, put it aptly in Disha Shetty’s article:
“A study in India has shown that women are exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution, especially because they tend to be the primary caregivers and, in large parts of the world, are in charge of cooking for their families, which exposes them to high levels of indoor air pollution. “Especially in countries where families rely on solid fuels for cooking and heating, women tend to have very high exposures to pollutants such as PM2.5.”
Pallavi Pant
For women who work outside their homes, like myself, the challenges are amplified – commuting to work in the thick of the smog, dealing with the added stress of additional travel time due to poor visibility, and trying to stay productive while constantly battling the effects of poor air quality.
What makes it even more frustrating is how this issue is not fully recognised in the global climate discourse. While international conversations about climate change often focus on large-scale solutions – renewable energy, carbon reductions, or mitigating natural disasters – local environmental crises like Lahore’s smog are often sidelined.
South Asia’s Collective Struggle with Smog Amid Other Disasters
Lahore’s smog crisis is just one chapter in a much larger story of climate vulnerability. South Asia is no stranger to natural disasters – floods, heatwaves, and even glacial lake outbursts are regular occurrences, exacerbated by climate change. The catastrophic floods of 2022, which displaced millions and caused widespread devastation, are a painful reminder of how extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. In fact, according to the World Bank Group, “The region is living through a “new climate normal” in which intensifying heat waves, cyclones, droughts, and floods are testing the limits of government, businesses, and citizens to adapt.”
Pakistan has been a victim of natural disasters and their severe consequences in recent years. The Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global emissions. Yet, it is among the countries that is being most affected by climate change solely because the country highly lacks the vision and conviction needed to protect its citizens and the country’s infrastructure.
The 2023 heatwave in South Asia saw temperatures soar above 50°C in parts of Pakistan and India, breaking records and exacerbating the already severe drought conditions. Climate change and air quality are inextricably linked, as the same pollutants that cause climate change also degrade air quality causing smog.
What unites us across South Asia is not just the shared struggle with air pollution, but also the shared vulnerability to climate disasters – smog in Lahore and Delhi is a clear indicator that we are all grappling with the environmental consequences of industrial growth, deforestation, and the changing global climate.
The Need for Local Action and Global Accountability
At the global level, COP29 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024, and other climate forums have recognised the urgency of addressing climate change. However, discussions often fail to prioritise the specific challenges faced by cities like Lahore, where air quality is a daily concern. The lack of attention to urban air pollution in such global dialogues is not just an oversight—it is a systemic failure to address the realities of life in the Global South.
As South Asia continues to deal with the devastating consequences of climate change, both in the form of extreme weather and environmental degradation, there needs to be a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which global policies impact local lives. Smog is not just a result of local pollution; it is also a consequence of global climate inequities, where countries in the Global South are often left to bear the brunt of the emissions caused by more industrialised nations.
When I spoke to the Pakistani Environmental Lawyer, Rafay Alam, an activist and member of the Pakistan Climate Change Council about the current pollution crisis, he emphasised the urgency:
“The “Lahore Smog Season” is a year-round regional public health emergency. This isn’t just a Lahore issue, it’s a regional issue (in the Punjab) and it’s not a seasonal issue, it’s a year-long issue, exacerbated in the winter by the cold, lack of wind and the crop burning but also air pollution sources operate throughout the year. To address the air pollution in South Asia, we must assess, understand and deal with all the sources of air-pollution.”
Rafay Alam
Alam also spoke about the main reasons for the crisis and what measurable actions could be taken to tackle the growing environmental crisis;
“Despite the lack of reliable data, reports on air-pollution sources in the Punjab indicate that auto-mobile emissions account for 40-45% of the air-pollution while 30% comes from industrial emissions from energy production, especially energy coming from coal or thermal sources. So, if we really want to address air pollution, we need to improve the refineries in Pakistan and the fuel quality. We have to introduce electrical vehicles, public transport, and change the way we design our cities.”
Rafay Alam
One of Alam’s other recommendations was to shift to renewable energies. Pakistan has pledged to increase its renewable energy share to 60% under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). “We must also control industrial emissions, crop burning as well as the emissions from brick kilns. All of these issues have to be tackled simultaneously for years until we see a considerable improvement in air-pollution. All of this requires a civil society that has a vision of a clean air future that’s more sustainable and more durable than the five-year election cycle; we need political leadership that owns this issue and runs with it for years because air pollution can’t be addressed overnight.”
To understand how the pollution crisis impacts women in Lahore, I spoke to Sara Hayat, a lawyer who specialises in climate change law, policy, advocacy, and gender. She explained that the increase in air pollution makes her life stressful and complicated, especially as a mother who is expecting her second child. For example, she has to make sure her son stays indoors even though it is essential for a child’s development to breathe in fresh air and be involved in outdoor activities and sports. Hayat talked about how it also increases household management and expenses as,
“You have to purchase air purifiers and ensure that the doors and windows are closed so you can work properly. As a pregnant woman, poor air quality can have harmful effects on foetal development. It remains a concern when I go outside and again I must ensure that I’m always in an area with air purifiers.”
Sara Hayat
Women Leading Climate Activism and Advocacy in Pakistan
As the city’s air thickens with pollutants, so too does the urgency for action. Women, who often stand at the crossroads of caregiving, employment, and community resilience, are uniquely positioned to lead this charge. Our collective voices can demand accountability from policymakers, advocate for sustainable urban planning, and champion investments in renewable energy and public health.
Ameera Adil is a feminist climate activist, educator and founder of Climate Foresight Pakistan, an education and science communication initiative that raises awareness on climate change. Ameera has experience in the development sector in the areas of climate advocacy, gender-climate nexus and climate education, and is of the opinion that,
“In a country with few outlets for political expression, climate activism began as a call for basic rights and quickly actualised into a movement in line with global political agendas.
There are a variety of levels of climate activism that can be found in the country, ranging from tree plantation enthusiasts to calls for decolonisation and regrowth. In particular, climate activism began with a few key movements such as, Fridays for Future Pakistan, Youth Climate Activists Pakistan, and Climate Action Pakistan.
In the beginning when Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist, would announce climate strikes, young people would organise across the world, including Pakistan. Often multiple groups would work together and that helped networks expand, as did the youth initiatives. Today, we have youth groups interested in the inclusion of youth in climate diplomacy like Climate Forward Pakistan and we have environment/climate clubs in nearly all universities and prominent schools of Pakistan, and rampant awareness campaigns being delivered by everyone. The camaraderie is appreciable and seldom seen elsewhere in Pakistan but avenues for growth are still very limited.
The underlying fabric missing in Pakistani society is access to critical information. In a time of weaponised misinformation, the Pakistani youth needs capacity building in proper sourcing and determining the accuracy of knowledge, in line with the age old debate of lack of critical thinking – which in itself is a weaponised tool keeping Pakistan’s own history from its youth at times.
Climate activism ties into many existential crises for the future of Pakistan, all of which must begin with proper governance and well-intentioned, dedicated long-term planning.”
Ameera Adil
Clearing the Smog
There are many others like Ameera working towards this goal but this is not a fight women should bear alone. It demands a unified response from governments, industries, and individuals because the right to clean air transcends gender, borders, and class. A key way to create more balance is by involving women at every stage of the decision-making process. As Pant rightly explains,
“It is important to bring attention to the high impact air pollution has on women’s health… and identify ways to present and share scientific data, especially with communities where women have the highest exposures.”
Pallavi Pant
The smog may obscure our skies, but it cannot dim our determination. Together, we can envision a future where the air in Lahore is not a threat but a source of life – an environment where we breathe freely, live fully, and ensure that no one has to endure the burden of polluted air again. The time for change is not tomorrow or next year; it is now. Our survival, our well-being, and our shared future depends on it.
