Tackling Smog in Pakistan: Causes, Impacts, and Way Forward

Smog has emerged as a critical environmental and public health issue in Pakistan, particularly in urban areas. The thick haze, a toxic mix of pollutants, severely affects air quality, public health, agriculture production, and overall socio-economic development. The problem is exacerbated by vehicular pollution, industrial emissions, crop residue burning, and inefficient urban planning. Climate change further aggravates the situation, as changing weather patterns increase the frequency and intensity of smog episodes. The pressing need to address this crisis calls for a comprehensive understanding of its causes, impacts, and viable solutions. Therefore, the Agriculture and Climate Change Research Group, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) organized a webinar that aims to highlight the primary causes and impacts of smog in Pakistan, discuss policy and technical interventions to mitigate smog, and how to promote stakeholder collaboration for sustainable solutions. For this webinar, distinguished panelists from diverse professional backgrounds who have an important role in dealing with the smog issue and have a deeper understanding of the reasons behind smog and the challenges associated with mitigating smog were invited. The urban unit has already provided its research-based findings on smog crises in Lahore and Punjab therefore we requested Mr. Abid Hussainy from Urban Unit Punjab, who is currently the General Manager, Environment and Climate Change Division at Urban Unit. Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA) is the federal institute primarily responsible for dealing with all the environmental issues and developing and implementing environmental standards in Pakistan, so we invited Dr. Zaigham Abbas, Director NEQS at PEPA. To gain a deeper understanding of how legal structure and regulations have evolved in Pakistan in the context of environmental law Mr. Fahad Malik was requested. He is an Environmental, Lawyer and Adjunct Faculty at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). This webinar was moderated by Dr. Shujaat Farooq, Director of Research at PIDE, and attended by very diverse experts, students, and researchers.