Punjab fields 67 rapid response units to fight crop-burning smog

Punjab has put 750 personnel in 67 rapid response units into its rice-growing districts to stop farmers burning leftover paddy stalks, the practice the provincial environment department blames for much of the smog sitting over Lahore.

Salwat Saeed, who heads the Punjab Environment Protection and Climate Change Department, said the units have been told to reach a reported field fire within 10 to 15 minutes. Teams patrol paddy areas looking for signs of burning, and residents can register complaints locally, she said.

The department said it received 679 reports of field fires across Punjab in 24 hours this week and put out 650 of them.

On Thursday, staff of one of the newly set up units drove into a rice field on the edge of Lahore where smoke from burning residue was spreading and put the fire out within minutes, Independent Urdu reported.

Ashfaq Hussain, a deputy director of the task force, said complaints reach the teams through several channels and that they act on them as quickly as possible.

Farmers who burn residue can be fined up to Rs15,000 an acre, according to Muhammad Farooq, an assistant director in the Punjab agriculture department. Those who do not pay can face legal action and up to six months in prison.

The government has distributed more than 10,000 super seeders at subsidised rates, paying 60 per cent of the cost and leaving 40 per cent to the farmer.

Muhammad Ismail, who farms 50 acres, said using the subsidised machines instead of setting residue alight had raised his wheat yield per acre, but few farmers have taken the method up. Saleem Abbas, who has stopped burning, said many still prefer it because it is the cheapest and quickest way to clear a field for the next crop.

IQAir, the Swiss air quality monitor, rated Lahore's pollution "very unhealthy" at the start of this week. Express News reported that Punjab's air quality index dashboard shows a reading of 500 even when pollution levels climb above it.

Satellite data show the area affected by crop burning in India and Pakistan so far this season has been below the historic average, though many people in Pakistan say they see no improvement in the air.

Abdullah Nayer, director general of the Punjab Environment Protection Department, said health department figures showed admissions for smog-related throat illness last month were 69 per cent of the number recorded in October 2025.

Patients at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore said they were still suffering. Ahmed Abubakar, who has had bypass surgery on his heart arteries and is diabetic, said the smog had left him short of breath and with an eye infection. Muhammad Niaz Butt said his nose and throat were blocked. "These people are burning crop residues and nothing is being done about it," he said.

Pakistan and India have blamed each other for the pollution in recent years. Saeed said the problem is a challenge for both countries and that Pakistan has raised it with Indian officials at international forums. India's Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.