As a thick haze once again settled over Lahore, officers from a recently created quick-response unit halted at a paddy field on the city’s outskirts and moved to quell a smouldering blaze. Smoke hugged the ground above the cut rice stalks, but the crew brought the fire under control within minutes, one of many such interventions officials say are being used to blunt the seasonal spike in air pollution.
Punjab’s new force is focused on illegal stubble burning - the common practice of setting leftover rice residue alight after the October harvest - which authorities and local officials say feeds into a toxic mixture of industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust and construction dust. Those pollutants can linger under cool winter air and push city air quality to hazardous levels. Earlier this week the Swiss group IQAir rated Lahore as "very unhealthy."
Officials describe the unit as Pakistan’s first deliberately tasked with fighting pollution through rapid field responses. It is among the most visible elements of a broader campaign by provincial authorities who say they are seeing early signs of progress. Satellite monitoring, officials note, has detected less burned area this year so far in both Pakistan and India than the historical average for this point in the season, though many residents say any improvement is hard to perceive on the ground.
Silwat Saeed, chief of the Environment Protection and Climate Change Department in Punjab, said the government organised a 750-member force divided into 67 rapid-response units stationed across principal rice-producing districts. Teams are instructed to reach reported field fires within 10 to 15 minutes, he said.
Officials also patrol paddy areas to look for signs of burning and accept complaints through multiple channels, according to Ashfaq Hussain, a deputy director of the force. "We receive complaints through multiple channels and respond to them in the shortest possible time," he said. In one 24-hour period this week, the department recorded 679 field fire reports from across Punjab and said it extinguished 650 of them.
Those caught igniting stubble face penalties ranging from fines to arrest. Muhammad Farooq, an assistant director at the Punjab Agriculture Department, said farmers detained for burning could be fined 15,000 Pakistani rupees per acre. Those who do not pay the fines can face prosecution and a possible jail term of up to six months. The article uses the exchange rate $1 = 276.6100 Pakistani rupees to indicate the dollar equivalent.
Alongside enforcement, the government has taken steps to encourage alternatives. Authorities have distributed more than 10,000 subsidised super seeders, covering 60% of each machine’s cost while farmers cover the remaining 40%. Some farmers report tangible benefits from switching away from burning. Muhammad Ismail, who farms 50 acres, said moving to a subsidised super seeder and other machinery noticeably increased his wheat yield per acre.
Adoption of the machines is not universal, however. Saleem Abbas, a local farmer who stopped burning, noted that many continue to favour burning because it remains the cheapest and fastest method to clear fields for the next crop.
Relations between Pakistan and India on the issue of cross-border air pollution remain strained. Officials in Pakistan and India have in recent years accused each other of contributing to regional air contamination. Saeed said the scale of the problem is large for both countries and that Pakistan has raised the matter with Indian officials at international forums. India’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The human impact of the smog is visible in Lahore’s hospitals. In recent days patients have crowded benches and corridors at local medical facilities. Abdullah Nayyar, director general of the Punjab Environment Protection Department, said health department data show smog-related throat hospitalisations last month were at 69% of the level recorded in October 2025.
At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore, patients described acute symptoms. Ahmed Abubakar, a heart patient who has had a bypass and is diabetic, said the smog triggered breathing problems and eye infections. Mohammad Niaz Butt said his nose and throat became blocked and criticised the ongoing burning: "They are burning it, and nothing is done about it."
Key takeaways
- Punjab has formed a 750-member force in 67 rapid-response units to tackle illegal rice stubble fires and aims to reach reported fires within 10 to 15 minutes.
- Authorities report high volumes of calls for assistance; in one 24-hour period they recorded 679 field fire reports and said they extinguished 650 incidents.
- The government is combining enforcement - fines of 15,000 Pakistani rupees per acre and possible jail time - with incentives, distributing more than 10,000 subsidised super seeders paid for at 60% by the state.
Risks and uncertainties
- Partial adoption of subsidised machinery means many farmers still use burning because they view it as the quickest and cheapest field-clearing method - a risk for sustained reductions in emissions. Sectors affected include agriculture and regional air quality management.
- Cross-border attribution disputes between Pakistan and India over sources of pollution create diplomatic friction and complicate coordinated mitigation efforts, affecting regional environmental policy and public health planning.
- Despite reported reductions in burned area from satellite data, local residents and hospital admissions indicate ongoing health impacts, suggesting uncertainty over the immediacy and perceptibility of improvements to urban air quality; this affects healthcare services and public wellbeing in Lahore and surrounding areas.