Lahore is among the cities with the worst air pollution in the world; Islamabad is catching up; and even Karachi, despite its proximity to the sea and to the sea breeze, is impacted.

The consequences of air pollution are well known. Breathing the cocktail of toxic chemicals affects the membranes in the nose and lungs, restricts the absorption of oxygen and also enters into the blood and other organs. It is associated with strokes, cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer and arthritis. Babies and young children are particularly vulnerable, and there is strong evidence linking air pollution and permanent damage on the development of their brains.

The causes of the poor air quality in our cities are also well known. It includes transport and traffic; power plants, industrial units and factories, including brick kilns; and burning of crop stubble, other agriculture residues and solid municipal waste.

The actions needed to address the problem include reducing emission from traffic; from industrial sources; and from the burning of crop residues and municipal waste. These are well understood and have been set out in the scientific literature, in the popular press and even in Government policy documents.

If impacts, causes and solutions are known and........

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