Dosti (Friendship) Bus Service takes at least three hours to cover 500 kilometers distance from Pakistan’s lively cultural capital Lahore to Indian capital New Delhi .
Despite a shared history over thousands of years, the two cities located in their own socio-political environments may look different to the world beyond South Asia. Their recent tensions over Kashmir dispute make them look distant apart.
But lately a new phenomeon called smog has given them a familar, some say, similar climate, especially during winter season when both go behind the pall of thick fog that brings air and road traffic to a halt.
That is the case during months of December, January and sometimes even February, particularly if the weather is dry.
This winter the two historical cities are experiencing the foggy conditions a month before the usual time window for this meteorological phenomenon.
A thick mass of clouds enveloped the Indian capital New Delhi and Eastern Pakistani town, Lahore on the very first day November, forcing citizens live indoor as the smog loomed over Pakistani and Indian Punjabs and reduces visibility.
According to Pakistan Meteorological Department, it was the dry weather and the rising level of air pollution that resulted in the formation of toxic smog over Lahore and other towns of Central Punjab.
Smog poses health and environmental problems and it some heavy rains for it to disappear, and weather experts say rains are not in sight at the moment. The pungent airmass not only causes irritation in eyes but also results in the rise of upper and lower respiratory diseases.
The atmosphere in Pakistan is now rife with a number of conspiracy theories regarding the genesis of smog over Lahore and other parts of the Punjab province. Some people believe that the smog is being formed by India’s coal-fired power plants located in East Punjab and Haryana states.
Others were quick to term the phenomenon an outcome of the tear-gassing that was carried out in the capital Islamabad to disperse the workers of Opposition party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf that tried to march on the federal capital in a bid to de-seat Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif , accused by the opposition linked to Panama Leaks Scandal.
But recent images released by America’s upper space research organization, NASA show that high levels of “fires and thermal anomalies” in Indian states of Punjab and Haryana are due to burning of stubbles of paddy crop recently burnt by the farming after completion of harvesting process.
These pollutants are from 32 million tons (30 billion kgs) of leftover straw burnt by the farmers which is an age-old practice. The burning of the crop residues sent New Delhi behind the thick blanket of smog. Its effects also transcended across the border, engulfing Lahore and other parts of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Some Indian environmental experts had earlier called the extravagant fireworks in Diwali celebrations as the major reason for air pollution in New Delhi and surrounding areas.
However, images published by NASA suggest that burning of crops in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana could be the biggest reason behind the air pollution in two South Asian nations.
Over the last three days, Lahore and other areas of northern and central Punjab have been encircled by a thick layer of with sunshine becoming totally imperceptible as haze spreads over the sky. Motorways have been reportedly blocked and flights may soon have to be delayed or canceled. A spate of fog-related accidents was reported across Punjab.
In New Delhi, Indian experts says the toxic air is reportedly at worst levels in decades with a mix of smog and fog.
According to Director General, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Dr. Ghulam Rasool , the situation is going to last till the end of December, as there has been no rain in the central Punjab since October.
