Red-eyed locals constantly coughing, the insidious smell of smoke, cars turning on their headlights in the middle of the day to find their bearings: smog has once again enveloped the Pakistani city of Lahore, much to the dismay of population.
With over 11 million inhabitants, Pakistan’s second largest city, located in the east near the border with India, is frequently ranked among the most polluted air in the world.
This has still been the case for a few days. As in recent years, at this time, smog is reaching worrying levels in Pakistan, especially in Lahore and its province of Punjab.
As in neighboring India, the drop in temperatures accompanied by weak winds leaves pollution on the ground, resulting from agricultural burns and industrial or automobile emissions, generating respiratory and cardiac problems.
Syed Hasnain has just admitted her four-year-old son to Mayo Hospital in Lahore.
“He was coughing, couldn’t breathe properly and had a high fever. We thought maybe he caught the coronavirus […] but the doctors told us he had pneumonia caused by the smog, ”he told AFP.
“It’s very worrying,” he admits. “I knew smog could be bad for your health, but I didn’t think it would be so bad that my son had to be hospitalized. I have an older daughter, who is seven years old, and I am worried about her health as well. “
“A problem even in class”
On Wednesday morning, Lahore was temporarily ranked the city with the highest air pollution in the world by the specialized AirVisual network.
The level of fine particles PM2.5, the most dangerous, was 348 micrograms per cubic meter of air, 23 times the level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Mr. Hasnain is not the only one worried about children’s health. The effects of air pollution are also being observed in schools across the city.
“Pollution is a problem even in the classroom. We see children with red and irritated eyes, others cough all the time, ”says Nadia Sarwar, a teacher in a public school.
In India, authorities in the capital New Delhi have closed schools until the end of the month due to air pollution.
Ms Sarwar, however, does not think this is the solution. Children have already missed school for too long because of the coronavirus and that would amount to “punishing them for a problem they did not cause”.
For adults too, this period, which usually lasts three or four months, is difficult. Rana Bibi, 39, mother of three, uses her dupatta, the long traditional scarf, as a mask while waiting for the rickshaw that will bring her home.
” Nothing is happening “
“The smoke hurts my eyes and throat. That’s why I cover my face like this. First they made us do this for the corona[virus], but now I do it myself, ”said this cleaning lady.
“When I come home, I always smell the smoke: my clothes, my hair, my hands are dirty. But what to do ? I can’t just sit at home. We must make do. “
According to Air Visual, Pakistan was in 2020 the second country in the world for its air pollution – behind Bangladesh but ahead of India – and Lahore the 18th most polluted city.
The Pakistani people have started to realize the situation. Low-cost purifiers have been manufactured, various initiatives taken, and legal actions against the administration initiated.
But authorities were slow to respond, accusing India of causing smog or disputing pollution figures.
“Every year, we read on the news that Lahore is the most polluted city or with the worst smog in the world. [Mais] nothing is happening. Nobody cares, ”says Saira Aslam, who works for a company in the technology sector.
She doesn’t hide her anger. “The government got away with it last year because we were all at home because of the lockdown. But they cannot continue to pretend everything is fine ”.