LAHORE: The numbers paint a grim picture: Pakistan ranks as the world’s third most polluted country according to World Population Review 2025, while Germanwatch’s Climate Risk Index 2025 — analysing three decades of data from 1993 to 2022 — places the nation at the very top of the list of countries most ravaged by climate change. From Lahore’s annual smog siege that sends residents scrambling for air purifiers to the black smoke billowing from brick kilns dotting the city’s periphery, the evidence is visible in the grey skies above Pakistan’s major cities.
It is against this backdrop that DawnMedia, under its Breathe Pakistan project, is convening a critical conversation on the crisis. The Air We Breathe: A Focused Conference on Air Pollution, will be held at Lahore’s Expo Centre today (Saturday), bringing together experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to confront one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing the country.
The conference has drawn high-level attention, with judges of superior courts, federal and provincial ministers, technical experts and foreign dignitaries set to grace the event. The day-long gathering will feature multiple sessions tackling the multifaceted dimensions of Pakistan’s air quality crisis.
Key discussions will span governance, financing, and regional cooperation — from “Better Governance for Air Pollution” and “A Greener Punjab to Combat Air Pollution” to “Financing Clean Air for Pakistan”. Sessions will also examine “The Smog Equation”, explore “Tackling Trans-Boundary Air Pollution in South Asia: Diplomacy and Regional Cooperation”, and chart pathways for “Developing a National Air Quality Management Framework for Pakistan”. The health dimension will be addressed in a dedicated session on “A Health Crisis in the Smog”, acknowledging the toll that toxic air takes on millions of Pakistani lungs each year.
DawnMedia hosts seminal conference on air pollution today
Speaking about the conference, Nazafreen Saigol-Lakhani, the chief executive officer of DawnMedia, said, “Building on the success of the first Breathe Pakistan conference, The Air We Breathe one-day conference focuses on a single pressing, and vital aspect of environmental degradation. As Punjab heads into a period when air quality indices nosedive, The Air We Breathe aims to explore viable policy options, practical solutions, and collaborative frameworks across public, private, and academic sectors.”
The timing is deliberate — as winter approaches, Punjab braces for its annual air quality emergency when cooler temperatures trap pollutants close to the ground, turning the province’s skies into a toxic blanket. Ms Saigol-Lakhani added that attendees could expect a series of high-impact sessions on air quality management, climate governance, financing for clean air initiatives, the role of the judiciary in securing citizens’ rights to clean air, and data-driven environmental action.
The conference has garnered broad political support, with endorsements spanning the spectrum — from government figures to opposition voices and civil society stakeholders working on environmental issues.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari thanked DawnMedia for taking the initiative, calling it particularly timely given Pakistan’s precarious position as one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. She termed the move a national service, noting that the country was bearing the brunt of climate change effects in the form of devastating floods, cloudbursts, and increasingly erratic monsoon spells. “Creating awareness among the public and bringing together all the departments and institutions concerned is a national service,” she added, underscoring the need for coordinated action across sectors.
Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan echoed this sentiment, calling the programme the need of the hour. “Our country is in trouble due to climate change and projects like Breathe Pakistan were required to counter the challenge and create awareness among the people,” he said. He stressed that every citizen should make a contribution to make the climate better — a reminder that while policy and governance are crucial, individual action remains an essential piece of the puzzle.
Abid Omar of the Pakistan Air Quality Index, a community-led initiative to monitor air pollution, described air pollution as the most pressing issue facing Pakistan today. “It’s an internal threat. It’s a clear and present danger. Every year, over 100,000 people are dying from air pollution. It is causing a tremendous loss to our economy,” he said, his words highlighting a crisis that kills more Pakistanis annually than many recognise — a silent epidemic claiming lives through respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and stroke.
The economic toll is equally staggering: lost productivity, healthcare costs, and reduced life expectancy translate into billions in economic damage, draining resources that could fuel development.
Mr Omar, who will be among the experts attending the conference, expressed the hope that DawnMedia, in convening this critical gathering, would prove “seminal in making the policy required to clean Pakistan’s air” — a recognition that while the data documenting the crisis is clear, what Pakistan desperately needs now is actionable policy and political will.
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman also lauded the Breathe Pakistan initiative, emphasising that the country desperately needs greenery and trees. “Trees should be planted and they should be protected. The mafia involved in deforestation should be controlled and the government should be pressured to not support such mafias,” he said, alluding to the powerful timber and land-grabbing interests that have stripped Pakistan’s forests — from the dwindling conifer forests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the mangroves along the southern coast — at alarming rates.
Deforestation not only removes nature’s air filters but also accelerates soil erosion and reduces the land’s capacity to absorb carbon emissions. “If we want clear air and save ourselves from climate change, initiatives like this conference should be supported,” he added, calling for collective action beyond partisan politics.
The DawnMedia CEO outlined the conference’s robust institutional backing: “The Air We Breathe is being held in collaboration with the Environment Protection and Climate Change Department, Government of Punjab and the United Nations as our principal partners, the Pakistan Business Council as our knowledge partner, and IPSOS, CFP, and Carbon Track as our research partners.” The partnership structure reflects the multidimensional nature of the air quality challenge — requiring coordination across government, international agencies, business, and data-driven research.
She added that The Air We Breathe builds on the momentum from the first conference “by shifting the focus from pledges to practical, tangible measures to reduce air pollution.
We’re also introducing new mechanisms to track progress and sustain accountability, ensuring that what began as conversation now translates into long-term, measurable action.”
The emphasis on accountability signals a departure from Pakistan’s long history of environmental commitments that fade once the cameras stop rolling.
Ms Saigol-Lakhani said the conference focused on the quality of the air and everyone should attend it to become better informed and be agents of change in their own spheres. “But more specifically, this conference is for policymakers, industry leaders, urban planners, environmental experts, academics, and students who want to play an active role in shaping Pakistan’s response to the air quality crisis,” she explained.
The speaker lineup reflects this cross-sectoral approach: Federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal and Musadik Masood Malik, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Supreme Court justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Ayesha Malik, and Jawad Hassan, Punjab Environment Protection and Climate Change Secretary Silwat Saeed, UN Resident Coordinator Mohamed Yahya, Emma Fan of the Asian Development Bank, and Zafar Masud of the Bank of Punjab will be among those addressing the gathering — a mix of judicial authority, political leadership, technical expertise, and financial institutions necessary to drive systemic change.
Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2025
Header image: People walk to board trains amid smog and air pollution at a railway station in Lahore, on Nov 14, 2024. — Reuters
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