Air purifiers, masks, nebulisers new normal as Pakistanis fight smog

Breathing clean air in Lahore is something the city’s 14 million people do not take for granted. These days, they have to wear a mask, buy an air purifier, and continuously wash their face and eyes. All of this is because of the toxic smog.

A thick grey cloud has enveloped Lahore and other parts of Punjab province, which borders India, as air pollution has degraded to unprecedented levels in the region.

Pakistan authorities have shut down schools to keep children safe while hospitals are struggling to deal with a constant flow of patients complaining of respiratory issues.

Summaiya Zaidi, a law professor, says she seriously considered donning a ‘stillsuit’ inspired by the Dune movies series starring Timothée Chalamet.

The smog had made the air quality so bad that she wondered if she could put together a backpack-type contraption with a built-in air purifier so she could breathe easily outdoors.

“I had seriously considered this. The smog was so bad.”

Inhale in

On Thursday, IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitor, said the air quality index (AQI) in Lahore was 1,378 – a hazardous level. It went up to 1,591 during the day.

Earlier this month, this had shot up to 1,900, a record. The AQI in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was 252. Any reading above 300 is considered dangerous for health.

Health professionals have asked people to avoid outdoor exercise, close windows, and wear a mask outdoors and use an air purifier.

Ahmed Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer, says smog has made the city unlivable.

Commenting on the satellite images from NASA Worldview showing the city of Lahore cloaked in a toxic haze of smog, he said “You can see the air pollution from space most of the time, this year isn't different. The air pollution is tragic”.

Pollution, which is caused by a host of factors including the burning of farm waste, has made people paranoid about the air quality.

“People are not leaving their houses. Some people who do get out, just carry AQI metres with them all the time and manically check the air quality…it is all so encompassing,” Zaidi shared, adding that she was taking anti-allergy pills most days and using a nebuliser for her baby.

Smog worsens in Lahore around the winter season as there’s not enough wind to dissipate it and temperature inversion traps pollution closer to the ground.

Inhale out

Hiba Hashmi, a mom of three, hasn’t let her kids go outside to play since the second or third week of October.

There was a Jumbo Jump planned for the end of the month, but it had to be cancelled because of the smog. “That’s the first thing I remember cancelling this year. We haven’t looked back since then and I don’t know how much more there is to go.”

Till a week and a half ago, she shares, the afternoons were relatively better as she let her children play football with their cousins.

“I remember thinking there was so much smog but I let them play because come on! But the air was not safe even at that time…”

It has been two weeks that her kids have been taking online classes.

“There isn’t enough oxygen because we have to keep the windows shut. The kids are coughing on and off. They’ve got breathing problems. You can’t breathe unless you’ve locked yourself in a room with an air purifier, otherwise, your eyes burn, your nose burns or you smell smoke in the air,” she said, adding that despite the windows being tightly shut, the air quality inside her home matches the air quality outside.

What Hashmi really misses are Autumn evenings in Lahore. The recurring smog in Octover-November months has deprived the people from enjoying the best time of year to go outside with family and friends.

“We’ve really been missing out year after year. There is a deep sense of helplessness,” said Hashmi.

The gray haze has also clouded the reasons behind the smog.

“Every institution and organisation has its own estimation of what contributes most to the smog. Some people say it’s because of traffic, while others blame it own stubble burning and brick kilns,” said Hashmi.