A-9: Covid-19: Air Quality and Health Issues
- Blue skies and clean air are a barometer of good governance. International funds should be linked with targets towards improving air quality, especially in regions such as Lahore which faces a 5-year loss in life expectancy from hazardous air pollution.
- Policies announced by Pakistan, such as ‘no new coal power projects’ and ‘60% renewable by 2030’, need to be implemented in letter and spirit.
- The Government of Pakistan should introduce state of the art end-of-pipe measures to reduce sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate emissions at power stations and in large-scale industry.
- It is vital to initiate advanced emissions standards in industries, e.g., iron and steel plants, cement factories, glass production, chemical industry, etc.
- There is need to improve efficiency and introduce emissions standards in countries like Pakistan and India.
- South Asian countries like Pakistan and India should manage agricultural residues, including strict enforcement of bans on open burning; reduce NOx fertilizer emissions through managed grazing, cover crops, disallow till farming as well as upgrade brick kilns and initiate more local urban forestry projects/drives.
- It is essential to plan waste collection with source separation, recycling and treatment.
- In cities, construction and road dust should be suppressed and green areas increased.
- In the transportation sector, there is need to improve the quality of diesel and gasoline fuels; enforce standards and penalties for routine inspections; and improve public transport infrastructure.
- Both Pakistan and Indian need to enhance public education on air pollution.
- The government needs to establish emission control zones around cities like Lahore, Islamabad/Rawalpindi and Karachi.
- Pakistan should integrate air quality with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- There is a need for mitigation of other key sources of air pollution. For example, the urban world’s single biggest challenge is public transportation and non-motorized private transportation. Mobility, in the form of environment-friendly means like bicycles, is the world’s ally to fight future pandemics. Second, industrial zones need to be moved away from cities at any cost. Third, waste burning has an underestimated role in air pollution and needs to be stopped.
- Air pollution cannot be fixed if it is not measured accurately through real-time monitoring and the data shared publicly.
- Mainstream air pollution awareness is required with the help of doctors and local care givers.
- Because air pollution is a transboundary issue, it needs to be attacked from a regional perspective.
- Collectively, the solutions to the reduction and ultimate elimination of pollution cannot be achieved via technology alone but need to be resolved with and alongside the very people and communities that require solutions.
- Citizen science and community‐engaged research should be used as effective and powerful mechanisms to collect data and to engage with communities to take action to find and reduce personal exposures to contamination in their own homes.
- Deeper reach of science and scientists into communities about air pollution and air quality research that matters to individuals can be accelerated by use of social media platforms, improving the community relevance and impact of science.
- Authorities need to establish a surveillance system where air quality can be linked with the health of the people.
