It isn’t just foggy — it’s suffocating. During dust season in Lahore, Pakistan, anything as simple as breathing may be a major health threat. Individuals keep their windows shut to defend themselves, yet they can smell smoke yet home.
When we call family and friends in Pakistan, they frequently have to leave because they are coughing and gasping from the haze and the air they breathe.
This is typical for people living in many of Pakistan’s big cities. In recent years, the haze has gotten worse. Fine particulate air pollution known as PM2.5 increased by 25 % in 2024 compared with 2023.
Smog started to engulfing Punjab’s big cities, halting living there. In November 2024, 129, 229 people visited facilities due to respiratory conditions.
Due in large part to the dust that drew down on cities like Lahore and Sheikhupura every spring, Pakistan is the fourth-highest poisoned nation in the world. The air quality standards set forth by the World Health Organization are so low that life expectancy in these places is seven times shorter than where they are met.
Our analysis of how weather issues are presented in the media revealed that the internet have a significant impact on educating the public about smog’s dangers and causes. However, frequently the investigating disregards the man burden and ignores its effects on health and lifestyle.
Clouded stories
We analyzed 356 news reports related to dust in Pakistan during 2017 and 2019, which appeared in six media. Only 15 % of the stories discussed the negative effects of smog on public health, with the majority mentioning precautionary measures like wearing masks, moisturising skin ( to create a barrier effect against environmental substances ), eating a balanced diet ( to maintain a healthy immune system ), and limiting time spent outdoors when smog is heavy.
Our research demonstrates how Bangladeshi media view smog as a seasonal annoyance as opposed to a significant public health emergency necessitated immediate and lasting attention.
As we gathered information, we discovered that smog-related news content started appearing in both English and Urdu papers after the matter became more prevalent. Most media readers, particularly in Urdu papers, only seemed engaged in smog-related reports during smog period which is from October to February, though cloud hangs in the sky throughout the year.
Muslim media tended to assign dust to nearby factors, including urbanization, modernization, car emissions, and the burning of misuse or crops. Government initiatives to lessen mist effects were still crucial in the media, but they neglected to mention numerous sustainable policy options.
There are other local issues at play these, too. Despite the direction of the prevailing winds, the Bangladeshi media blame fumes from stubble burning on the American side of the border for haze outbreaks.
The media often cover the devastating effects of dust, such as the strain on the market, closing of schools, transfer delays and power supply disruptions. There were more than 20 % of media reports in each magazine about these effects.
However, there were far fewer stories in the media about the negative effects of smog on people’s health and about communities where they were susceptible, such as day-to-day workers who worked out and breathed toxic air.
Smog seen through a glass of remedies
By adopting a more human-centred and solutions-journalism approach ( rigorous reporting that’s focused on responses to particular social and environmental challenges ), the media landscape in Pakistan could become much more comprehensive.
Solutions-focused dust reporting should ultimately include climate justice by demonstrating how vulnerable communities are more adversely impacted by haze. With more human-centered account points, the internet may reveal the health relevance of dust.
Linking routine actions, such as burning fossil fuels, crops and waste, to major health issues, such as respiratory disease is essential. Powerful storytelling can demonstrate how reducing those effects can improve human health.
The impact of sustainable solutions on the media could be increased. Currently, the media focus mainly on stories about short-term policy actions. That includes highlighting the school’s prohibition of outdoor activities and holidays, as well as publishing reports about the number of cases of farmers burning crops in newspapers. Additionally, taxes may be paid on tickets issued to smoke-emitting vehicles, industrial units that have been sealed during the smog season, and the temporary pause in development projects to combat smog.
The 2019 media coverage we analyszd highlighted sustainable solutions in just 12 instances. That included stories about tree planting, rooftop gardening and urban forestry. Although Urdu is largely read and understood by people, Urdu newspapers have fewer stories that focus on solutions journalism than English newspapers.
Solution-focused journalism can help demonstrate how rigorous policy choices can be used to address environmental issues and open up new opportunities, such as knowing which trees are best for reducing air pollution.
The first step in improving the public’s understanding of smog is to increase the scientific and environmental literacy of Pakistani journalists. Once reporters and editors become more knowledgeable about science, they will feel more equipped to create compelling stories that tell compelling stories about the air quality in Pakistan and other developing nations.
Rabia Qusien works for George Washington University’s Alliance for a Sustainable Future as a postdoc. David Robbins is a co-director of the Dublin City University Institute for Climate and Society and an associate professor at the School of Communications.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.