New report links Pakistan’s smog to local emissions, Punjab EPA rejects findings

A new report by the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) has concluded that Pakistan’s worsening air pollution is overwhelmingly generated within local airsheds, challenging the long-held narrative that cross-border factors are primarily to blame. 

Dawn reported, citing the PAQI’s report, that the national-level analysis finds that air quality crises in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad-Rawalpindi and Peshawar are distinct, city-specific emergencies shaped by local economic activity and urban design.

PAQI’s Unveiling Pakistan’s Air Pollution: A National Landscape Report on Health Risks, Sources and Solutions uses satellite-based aerosol datasets, chemical transport modelling, and PAQI’s real-time monitoring network to map the sources and impacts of PM2.5 across the four cities. The report notes that air pollution also affects peri-urban and rural areas, which remain significantly under-researched.

According to the findings, Lahore’s emissions stem mainly from transportation (35%), heavy industry (28%) and brick kilns (17%). 

Karachi’s pollution is described as overwhelmingly industrial, with 49% of its harmful fine particulate matter linked to industrial activity and port operations. 

In Islamabad-Rawalpindi, transportation accounts for 53% of emissions, driven largely by congestion and urban planning constraints. 

Peshawar faces the highest per-capita pollution burden, with 51% of emissions from transport and 18% from brick kilns, compounded by atmospheric trapping in the valley.

The report states that Pakistan’s cities and many rural districts experience pollutant levels far above safe limits, contributing to disease, reduced productivity and lower life expectancy. Household air pollution remains a major contributor, with PM2.5 levels in some rural kitchens recorded at up to 600 times higher than those using cleaner fuels.

The study calls for improved monitoring in rural areas, better agricultural practices to curb crop-residue burning, and targeted interventions such as transitioning to cleaner fuels and electrifying two- and three-wheelers. 

PAQI founder Abid Omar said the report ends the era of speculation, adding that Pakistan now has a data-driven map of local pollution sources. “The barrier is no longer lack of evidence but lack of will,” the report states.

However, the Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA) rejected the findings. EPA spokesperson Sajid Bashir said PAQI did not have data to develop a report and insisted that more than 80% of the industry in Lahore had installed emission-control equipment. 

He claimed the organisation lacked accurate information on vehicles and brick kilns, and attributed Lahore’s pollution to cross-border factors. He also questioned PAQI’s access to satellite data. A 2024 study by the Urban Unit, however, had identified transport as a major urban polluter.

The report concludes that each city requires a tailored strategy rather than uniform measures, stressing that Pakistan’s air pollution crisis is structural and locally driven, demanding targeted action.