Lahore in Distress: Why Artificial Rain isn’t the Cure to Smog Woes?

Lahore Smog is a serious air pollution problem. Root causes of smog are various important factors that needto be addressed instead of artificial rain (cloud seeding only). Artificial rain cannot end smog in Lahore.

“ If there were any risks, countries like Dubai and America wouldn’t undertake such projects,” Mohsin Naqvi.

But countries like Dubai and America are not using it for cleaning their blankets of air, which have been messy due to the overflowing exhaust pipes of fuel-burning vehicles. Though many countries have used cloud seeding (artificial rain) to clean pollutants from the air, they have neither deployed it as a permanent or often-used solution nor can they. The United Arab Emirates itself is using artificial rain as a solution to drought-affected areas; the same has been done by India, China, Indonesia, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, and the United States. Many European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and Austria, have used it to alter hailstorm patterns to save their crops. It is important to consider that all of the countries listed above have overcome serious air pollution, and even now they are struggling with it in very sustainable ways.

A sustainable approach is one that you can carry out and enhance on a long-term basis instead of short dramatic episodes.

Although it was not wrong to practice cloud seeding in Lahore, it is not feasible to repeat it on a seasonal basis. On the other hand, smog will return in weeks, every winter, and will occur every year. Even in the long summer season, have you ever found Lahore pollution-free?

A couple of days after artificial rain, the Air Quality Index of Lahore is between 180–300 (unhealthy to hazardous range)- Dated: 19–12–2023

Why Artificial rain is not the solution?

It is not the solution simple because it has nothing to do with sources of smog. Unfortunately, there is a long list of things that are continuously producing smog in the air of Lahore throughout the year. Please note that “throughout the year” is important to consider. Winters make this pollution visible as water vapors in the air tend to cool and mix pollutants in it. Otherwise, pollution is the same in summer, just water droplets are dispersed more unable to be mixed with pollutants.

ALSO READ: Navigating Unseen Dangers and Solutions in Lahore’s Air Pollution Crisis

What are the sources of smog?

1. Major sources of smog include heavy traffic, open garbage burning, heavy industries in the city, a high density of population, and continuous big construction projects.
2. Medium sources are the scarcity of green areas, priority to alien plant species, Bad engines, unsuitable environment for walking and cycling, bad traffic practices that lead to traffic blocks, expansion of the city, open waste disposal, and crop burning.
3. Small sources do not exist in Lahore, at least. No source is small if it is contributing to poisonous gases in the second-largest metropolitan city.

Vehicle emissions are the biggest cause of smog in Lahore. Lahore is overpopulated so its roads are too.

How do you solve the problem?

1. The first critical key to overcoming smog is to understand, accept, and call it a health problem instead of an environmental problem. Imagine that cylinders of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, dust, and smoke are being poured into your lungs. Isn’t it horrible? Yes, certainly, but what is most horrible is that it is not imagination. It is a reality at 100 percent.
2. The second key is to reduce, replace, and ban the sources of smog. Now this is the reason that the government should be happy with artificial rain. It is an easy, one-step process without any hues or cries. Do you think that a dozen of the things listed as sources of smog are this simple to manage? They are not even difficult; some of them can be revolutionary. For example, how will the government not allow any new construction projects except on a very small scale? It is not impossible, but it is an extremely tricky, risky, and odd decision.

One of the most simple and beautifully sustainable things is to encourage people to walk, but even that requires correcting two separate departments i.e. law enforcement (to make walking safe, especially for females) and the municipality (to make footpaths clean).

How do you make it easy?

There is also a third key to a solution, but the problem lies there. On paper, it seems easy, but if you have read Harry Potter, the third key is the sorcerer’s stone, guarded by a three-headed dog. “Following the principle that health is wealth at the individual, social, and administrative level” is the key, but trickily, our dog has many heads instead of three. If we can make a promulgating decision that we must not breathe poison, it seems possible to eliminate sources or reduce them; otherwise, most of them are luxuries of daily life that are to be left. Remember that air pollution is the cause, risk factor, and enhancer of all physical and mental health problems on this planet.

Does artificial rain have any side effects?

Until the chemicals (silver, calcium, and potassium iodides, solid carbon dioxide, propane, and sodium chloride) are used in bulk quantities or on a long-term basis to shower artificially, there are not many problems with artificial rain, according to research. For instance, it has only one big problem: it is not the solution to smog, it is not ending the smog, and it is not cleaning the air in Lahore.

So the conclusion is that the city’s persistent smog demands a holistic approach that addresses the root causes, emphasizing sustainable solutions and a collective commitment to transforming the way we live, move, and prioritize the health of both our environment and ourselves.