As smog once again blankets large parts of South Asia, Pakistani authorities are stepping up efforts to crack down on illegal stubble burning, which they say is contributing to the region's recurring air pollution crisis.
On Thursday, officers from a newly established rapid-response unit rushed to a paddy field on the outskirts of Lahore, where smoke was rising from burning rice stubble.
The team brought the fire under control within minutes, preventing more smoke from adding to the haze hanging over the city, which Swiss air quality monitoring group IQAir rated "very unhealthy" earlier this week.
Farmers across the region commonly burn leftover rice stalks after the October harvest to clear their fields for the next planting season.
The practice releases pollutants that combine with industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust and construction dust, creating a toxic mixture that becomes trapped beneath cold winter air and pushes pollution to dangerous levels.
Pakistani officials say the unit is the first of its kind in the country dedicated exclusively to combating air pollution. Its deployment is among the most visible measures in a broader crackdown that Punjab provincial authorities say is beginning to produce results.
Satellites have detected less burned area in India and Pakistan than the historical average at this point in the year, even as many residents in Pakistan say they struggle to notice improvements.
Carrot and stick approach
Silwat Saeed, chief of the Environment Protection and Climate Change Department in Pakistan's Punjab province, said the government formed a 750-member force this year, organized into 67 rapid-response units across major rice-growing districts.
Teams aim to reach reported field fires within 10 to 15 minutes. Officials also patrol paddy fields for signs of burning, while residents can file complaints locally, said Ashfaq Hussain, a deputy director of the force.
"We receive complaints through multiple channels and respond to them in the shortest possible time," he said.
In a single 24-hour period this week, the department received 679 reports of field fires across Punjab and said it extinguished 650 of them.
Violators face fines, arrest or both. Farmers caught burning stubble face fines of 15,000 Pakistani rupees ($54) per acre, said Muhammad Farooq, an assistant director of the Punjab Agriculture Department. Those who fail to pay the fines can also face prosecution and a possible prison term of up to six months.
The government has also distributed more than 10,000 subsidized super seeders, covering 60% of their cost while farmers pay the remaining 40%.
Ongoing health crisis
Muhammad Ismail, who farms 50 acres, said switching from stubble burning to a subsidized super seeder and other machinery had significantly increased his wheat yield per acre.
Yet adoption remains far from universal. Saleem Abbas, another local farmer who has stopped burning stubble, said many farmers still favor the practice because it is widely regarded as the cheapest and fastest way to clear fields for the next crop.
In recent years, Pakistan and India have each accused the other of contributing to worsening air pollution. Saeed said the challenge is significant for both countries and that Pakistan has raised the issue with Indian officials at international forums.
India's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
In recent days, patients have crowded benches and corridors at hospitals in Lahore. Abdullah Nayyar, director general of the Punjab Environment Protection Department, said health department data showed that smog-related throat hospitalizations last month were only 69% of the level recorded in October 2025.
But at Lahore's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Ahmed Abubakar, a heart patient who has undergone bypass surgery and has diabetes, said smog had triggered breathing problems and eye infections.
Mohammad Niaz Butt, who said his nose and throat had become blocked, put it bluntly: "They are burning it, and nothing is done about it."