Ministers in Pakistan’s Panjab blamed India for worsening smog conditions in Lahore as the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached hazardous levels, with the concentration of particulate matter 2.5 approaching 450, according to the Punjab Environment Protection Department, Pakistan. Noting that easterly winds from India were bringing polluted air into Pakistan, Pakistan’s Panjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari urged Indian authorities to take the matter seriously. Another senior Pakistan Panjab minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, asked the Pakistan Foreign Office to discuss cross-border pollution with India, emphasizing that winds from Amritsar and Chandigarh were spiking Lahore’s AQI to over 1,000 from 1 Nov to 4 Nov. On 11 Nov, Multan AQI hit a hazardous 2,135, enveloping the city in thick smog and triggering emergency measures. The Pakistan Panjab govt. has closed primary schools in Lahore for a week. On 11 Nov, the United Nations warned that in Pakistan, 11M children under the age of 5 are at risk due to the smog. However, efforts in Panjab, India, have led to a 73% reduction in farm fires, decreasing from 17,403 up to 5 Nov 2023 to 4,755 in the same period this year. Under the National Green Tribunal’s supervision, district administrations have taken actions against stubble burning. Additionally, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced the Delhi govt. has intensified crackdowns on air pollution by forming 58 teams to monitor industrial units for environmental compliance. With Delhi’s AQI remaining ‘very poor’ at 352, the govt. is enforcing a Winter Action Plan targeting 21 focus points, deploying 191 patrol teams to ensure proper disposal of industrial waste, and mandating industrial units to switch to Piped Natural Gas.
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