Punjab fields 750-member force to douse stubble fires as smog returns

Punjab has formed a 750-member force in 67 rapid-response units across its main rice-growing districts to stop illegal stubble burning, which officials say is a major cause of the smog hanging over Lahore and much of South Asia.

On Thursday a crew pulled up at a paddy field on the edge of Lahore and had the fire out within minutes, keeping the smoke from adding to the haze over a city that the Swiss air monitor IQAir rated very unhealthy earlier this week.

Silwat Saeed, chief of the Punjab Environment Protection and Climate Change Department, said the force was set up this year. Teams try to reach a reported field fire within 10 to 15 minutes, said Ashfaq Hussain, a deputy director of the force. Officers also patrol paddy areas for signs of burning, and complaints can be lodged locally. "We receive complaints through multiple channels and respond to them in the shortest possible time," Hussain said.

In a single 24-hour period this week the department received 679 field fire reports from across Punjab and said it extinguished 650 of them.

Farmers caught burning stubble face a fine of Rs15,000 per acre, said Muhammad Farooq, an assistant director of the Punjab Agriculture Department. Those who do not pay can be prosecuted and face a jail term of up to six months.

The government has also distributed more than 10,000 subsidised super seeders, paying 60% of the cost and leaving farmers to pay the remaining 40%. Muhammad Ismail, who farms 50 acres, said switching from burning to a subsidised super seeder and other machinery had significantly raised his wheat yield per acre.

Adoption is not universal. Saleem Abbas, a farmer who has moved away from burning, said many still prefer the practice because it is widely seen as the cheapest and fastest way to clear a field for the next crop.

Satellites have detected less burned area in India and Pakistan at this point in the year than the historical average, though many people in Pakistan say they see little improvement. Pakistan and India have accused each other of worsening the air for years. Saeed said the challenge is huge for both countries and that Pakistan has raised it with Indian officials at international forums. India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Patients have crowded benches and corridors at hospitals in Lahore in recent days. Abdullah Nayyar, director general of the Punjab Environment Protection Department, said health department data show smog-related throat hospitalisations last month stood at 69% of the level recorded in October 2025.

At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Ahmed Abubakar, a heart patient who has had a bypass and is diabetic, said the smog had brought on breathing problems and eye infections. Mohammad Niaz Butt, whose nose and throat had blocked, said: "They are burning it, and nothing is done about it."