Report explains documented impact on human health using clear and accessible scientific evidence
A view of smog in the Punjab province. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan has released its first comprehensive national air pollution assessment, presenting a scientific analysis of emissions sources, public health impact and policy gaps in four major urban airsheds.
The report, prepared by the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI), was launched at the Clean Air Summit held at a private university in Lahore, where environmental experts and policymakers described it as a crucial step for evidence-based decision-making.
According to the assessment, air pollution has become the country’s most serious environmental and public health problem, reducing average life expectancy by nearly four years and contributing to more than 100,000 premature deaths annually. Fine particulate matter, particularly PM2.5, is associated with increased cases of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, while sustained pollution levels in large cities pose long-term risks for residents in affected areas.
The report draws on satellite data, chemical transport modeling and PAQI’s real-time monitoring network, providing disaggregated analyzes for the airsheds of Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi-Islamabad and Peshawar. It presents the main sources of urban pollution and explains their documented impacts on human health using clear and accessible scientific evidence.
In Lahore, emissions from transport, industrial activity and brick kilns remain the main contributors, with winter temperature inversions worsening pollution. Karachi’s pollution is largely due to industrial hubs running on poor-quality fuels and weak regulation, accounting for almost half of the city’s emissions.
In Rawalpindi-Islamabad, rapid growth in automobile traffic has become the main source of particle pollution, while Peshawar’s valley-like geography and commercial transit corridors lead to higher average exposure levels than in other cities.
PAQI founder Abid Omar noted that the report is the result of nearly a decade of data collection and scientific analysis aimed at moving the political debate in Pakistan from conjecture to evidence.
The paper also includes thematic chapters on fundamental rights, environmental justice and institutional reforms, with contributions from former Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Senator Sherry Rehman, Rafay Alam, Sarah Hayat, Dr Saima Saeed, Dr Sanval Nasim, Dr Kulsoom Ahmed and other experts. Omar said policymakers now have an unequivocal scientific picture identifying where the problem lies and how it can be solved.
The report highlights that upgrading transport systems, upgrading industrial units, transitioning brick kilns to cleaner technologies and applying continuous monitoring of emissions can reduce pollution by up to 50 percent. Such improvements, he notes, would significantly reduce the health risks currently borne by urban populations across the country.
