Air Pollution Costs Pakistan $22 Billion Annually: Senate Warns

News Desk 

Islamabad: Pakistan is losing an estimated $22 billion every year—equivalent to 6.5% of its GDP—due to the severe impacts of air pollution, Senator Sherry Rehman revealed during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change on Thursday.

Presiding over the session, the senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader underscored the heavy economic and human toll of worsening air quality, warning that pollution-related fatalities have doubled in recent years.

“Earlier data suggested 128,000 deaths annually, but updated figures now show 256,000 citizens dying each year due to pollution,” she told the committee, adding that toxic smog has become deadlier than terrorism.

Rehman pointed out that while fog is a natural winter occurrence, smog is driven by harmful chemical pollutants. She lamented Lahore’s persistent appearance among the world’s most polluted cities and cited emissions from brick kilns, industries, and vehicles as key contributors.

The senator also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to present reliable data. Rejecting the EPA’s presentation, she reprimanded officials from the Ministry of Climate Change for submitting incomplete and unverified information despite having three months to prepare.

Highlighting the human cost, Rehman said 11 million children under five in Punjab were directly affected by seasonal smog. “Young children breathe twice as fast as adults, putting them at far greater risk of severe respiratory diseases,” she noted.

Pakistan was ranked the third most polluted country last year, with Lahore consistently topping global pollution charts. Rehman described the smog situation as “apocalyptic,” warning that it is slashing average life expectancy by 3.7 to 4.6 years.

She added that instead of shutting down brick kilns—which largely employ low-income workers—the government had opted to introduce zigzag technology to curb emissions.

Calling for urgent action, the senator stressed the importance of public-private partnerships to expand air quality monitoring nationwide.