Page 12 - The Indian EYE 110626

Op-Ed NOVEMBER 06, 2026 | The Indian Eye 12

South Asia Pollution: Why Can’t

Its Governments Clean the Air?

From Delhi to Lahore, toxic air is shortening lives, damaging economies and exposing

the limits of environmental governance across South Asia

ASHISH K SINGH

very winter, South Asia per-
forms the same ritual. Delhi
Edisappears under a blanket
of smog, Lahore struggles with haz-
ardous air, governments announce
emergency measures, courts demand
explanations, and officials promise
tougher enforcement. Then the sea-
son passes, the headlines fade, and the
cycle begins again the following year.
The latest developments in India
and Pakistan reveal the scale of the
problem. India’s Supreme Court has
questioned whether authorities can
effectively implement their own re-
strictions on firecrackers. In Pakistan, People jog amid dense smog around India Gate and Kartavya Path, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the area is recorded at 147, categorised as
a report by the Pakistan Air Quality ‘moderate’ by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in New Delhi (ANI Video Grab)
Initiative estimates that air pollution
reduces average life expectancy by 3.9 quality. The court also questioned the They cannot be replaced by seasonal solve their wider political disputes
years and contributes to approximate- functioning of CAQM’s monitoring restrictions or emergency equipment to share scientific research, improve
ly 128,000 premature deaths annually. network, noting that only nine of its deployed when the smog becomes im- pollution monitoring or exchange in-
The economic damage is estimated at 29 units were operational. possible to ignore. formation on emissions and seasonal
6.5 per cent of GDP. Without reliable monitoring and Politicians therefore have incen- air quality. Joint research and coordi-
These are not simply environ-
mental statistics. They expose a pro- transparent enforcement data, even tives to favour visible, short-term in- nated technical initiatives could im-
prove understanding of regional pol-
well-designed regulations risk becom-
terventions over reforms that demand
found contradiction in a region that ing exercises in paperwork. The real difficult negotiations and consistent lution patterns and help governments
aspires to rapid economic growth but test of environmental policy is not the enforcement. Blaming the weather design more effective responses.
continues to impose enormous health number of orders issued but wheth- or concentrating on a single source of Cooperation would not absolve
and financial costs on its population. er emissions fall and people breathe pollution is easier than restructuring either country of domestic responsi-
The first obstacle is the gap be-
tween policy and implementation. cleaner air. the systems responsible for it. bility. Delhi cannot outsource its emis-
The second obstacle is the ten-
sions, just as Lahore cannot attribute
Public awareness has a role in
During its hearing on Delhi’s pol-
lution crisis, the Supreme Court ques- dency to focus on immediate triggers this process. Prominent personalities its transport and industrial problems
rather than structural causes.
entirely to geography. But refusing to
can help communicate the dangers
tioned the government and the Com- Firecrackers contribute to Delhi’s of pollution, and citizens must rec- cooperate where common interests
mission for Air Quality Management pollution burden, but they are only ognise their own contribution to the are obvious is a costly form of political
about compliance with earlier direc- one part of a much larger problem. problem. But individual responsibility short-sightedness.
tions. The bench sought concrete ev- According to the Pakistan Air Quali- cannot become an excuse for weak Ultimately, South Asia needs to
idence: where enforcement teams had ty Initiative, transport accounts for 35 regulation of industrial emissions, in- stop treating air pollution as a season-
gone, what they had found, which ar- per cent of primary PM2.5 emissions adequate transport infrastructure or al emergency and
eas had experienced pollution spikes in Lahore, followed by industrial ac- inconsistent enforcement. South Asia’s pollution crisis is
and whether the measures had made tivities at 28 per cent and brick kilns A third challenge is regional co- not the result of scientific uncertainty.
any difference. “What did you actually at 17 per cent. In Karachi, industry operation. Its principal causes are increasingly
do? Unless you can tell us what you accounts for 49 per cent of emissions. Air pollution does not respect understood. The real test is whether
have done, what is the point of passing These figures point to the un- national borders. The geography of governments are willing to confront
orders? It becomes a mockery then,” derlying challenge: pollution is built the Indo-Gangetic plains, seasonal powerful interests, make long-term
the bench observed. into the way South Asian cities move weather patterns and the concentra- investments and cooperate across borders.
The question goes beyond fire-
Until they do, each winter will
crackers. It highlights the weakness people, generate energy, manufacture tion of densely populated cities create bring the same spectacle: cities gasp-
interconnected environmental chal-
goods and expand. Cleaner public
of an administrative approach that transport, stricter industrial standards, lenges. Yet political hostility across ing for air, officials announcing fresh
often measures progress through an- better urban planning and a transi- South Asia has limited the scope for measures and citizens paying the
nouncements, committees and action tion to less polluting fuels require sustained cooperation. price for a crisis that should no longer
plans rather than improvements in air
sustained investment and regulation. India and Pakistan need not re- be a surprise.

www.TheIndianEYE.com