By Um e Kulsoom
Peshawar —
When icy winds roll through Peshawar and the mountain valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, homes across the province come alive with the sound of crackling fires — not from wood stoves or heaters powered by gas, but from burning wood, discarded plastic, and even rubbish. For thousands of families, the winter months are now a battle for warmth, waged against gas shortages, rising fuel prices, and government neglect. What keeps them alive also quietly poisons their air, forests, and future.
A Province Choking on Cold
Every winter, the same frustration spreads across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: “Gas nahi hai.”
Pakistan’s energy statistics reflect this public outcry. Domestic gas production has declined steadily since 2012, while demand continues to grow. The Petroleum Division’s 2024 report estimates that national shortages reach nearly 1.5 billion cubic feet per day in winter. Despite producing gas itself, KP faces long hours of low pressure because federal allocations prioritise industries and major urban centres in Punjab and Sindh.
Gas schedules released by SNGPL show sharp supply drops in December and January. In many Peshawar neighbourhoods, households can’t even cook at night. “We burn anything that catches fire,” says Gul Meena, a resident of Ring Road. “The smoke hurts our throats, but freezing is worse.”
In northern hill districts such as Swat, Dir, and Malakand, where the cold bites harder, most families rely solely on firewood or animal waste. What was once seen as progress — the modern gas connection — has become another broken promise of development.
The Return to the Fire
What used to be a cultural ritual — the evening fire — is now a matter of survival and risk.
“This isn’t about nostalgia,” explains Dr Ijaz Khan, a sociologist at the University of Peshawar. “People have gone back to burning wood because the state failed to ensure fair energy access. It’s not tradition — it’s desperation.”
Satellite data from Global Forest Watch indicates that KP lost nearly 11,000 hectares of tree cover between 2018 and 2023, much of it from domestic wood use and illegal logging. Forest guards say tree-cutting surges every November as families prepare for the cold. “People sneak into reserved forests at night to cut branches,” says a ranger in Mardan. “We can’t stop them — they tell us, give us gas or let us take wood.”
These small, daily acts compound into widespread environmental loss. Forest degradation weakens slopes, disrupts water systems, and heightens the risk of floods and landslides — problems already worsened by climate change.
The Air Itself Tells the Story
Winter air in Peshawar is visibly thicker.
IQAir’s 2024 index shows the city’s average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) between 80–100 µg/m³ — about twenty times the World Health Organisation’s safe limit. When temperatures drop, smoke from homes and vehicles gets trapped close to the ground, turning neighbourhoods into grey chambers of pollution.
“Domestic burning is an invisible contributor to smog,” says Dr Ayesha Noor, an environmental scientist at COMSATS Abbottabad. “We often talk about Lahore’s industrial smog, but northern Pakistan’s household smoke is equally deadly.”
A 2023 Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) report found that emissions from household biomass burning release high concentrations of carbon monoxide and black carbon — pollutants that both harm health and amplify climate warming.
The Human Cost: Illness in Every Breath
As the nights grow colder, hospitals across KP brace for an influx of patients.
Doctors at Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital say respiratory cases spike sharply each winter. Pulmonologist Dr Saqib Ullah explains, “We see chronic damage from years of smoke exposure. Women, children, and older people are most at risk. These aren’t random diseases — they’re the result of poverty and failed policy.”
KP’s Health Department data shows a 40 percent rise in respiratory illnesses during December and January, especially in areas dependent on wood and waste burning. One case involved a nine-year-old from Swabi who developed severe pneumonia after months of breathing smoke from burning plastic shoes — her family couldn’t afford firewood.
Women and the Silent Burden
Inside dark, unventilated kitchens, women bear the brunt of the smoke.
“We breathe this air every day,” says Shazia Bibi, a Lady Health Worker from Hayatabad. “Many women feel dizzy or short of breath, but they think it’s normal winter tiredness.”
In many households, women and girls also spend hours collecting wood — trekking into forests for several kilometres. In areas like Shangla or Kohistan, the daily search for fuel can take three hours, stealing time from education or paid work. Anthropologist Dr Sadaf Naz calls it “unpaid environmental labour.” “When we talk about energy poverty,” she adds, “we must include the hidden cost borne by women’s health and time.”
Health workers further report that smoke exposure contributes to miscarriages and low-birth-weight babies — an unspoken public-health crisis. Midwife Humaira recounts visiting a woman who lost her pregnancy after months of exposure to indoor smoke. “She never knew it could harm her baby,” Humaira says quietly. “For her, it was just winter.”
A Crisis of Economics
The cost of clean energy has pushed many families past their limits.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, LPG prices jumped about 35 percent between 2022 and 2024, while piped-gas tariffs nearly doubled. For daily wage earners making Rs 1,200 a day, heating a room safely has become impossible.
Pakistan’s dependence on imported LNG means domestic prices track volatile global markets. Circular debt in the energy sector crossed Rs 2.6 trillion in 2024, leading to rationing and further tariff hikes. “The poor subsidise the rich,” says energy economist Saad Ahmed from SDPI. “Industry gets priority, while low-income households are left to burn waste to survive.”
The Forests Pay Too
KP’s forests are paying the ecological price.
The Pakistan Forest Institute reports a continued decline in native trees like deodar and pine due to overharvesting and illegal logging. Rangers in Dir and Swat describe well-organised networks that profit from scarcity. “People cut wood because they have no gas,” says one officer, “but timber traders are the ones who make money.”
Deforestation also shrinks Pakistan’s carbon-sink capacity. UNDP’s 2023 Climate Report warns that forest cover has fallen to just 4.8 percent — far below the global average — accelerating floods, erosion, and biodiversity loss.
The Missing Accountability
Energy poverty is not a new story, but its climate dimension is often ignored.
Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement pledge a 50 percent emissions cut by 2030, yet local adaptation remains weak. Officials frequently cite limited budgets, but audit reports reveal that funds for clean-energy projects — including improved stoves and micro-LPG schemes — often remain unused.
A KP Energy Department official, when asked for comment, said:
“We’re expanding LPG access in rural areas, but transport and security challenges make it difficult to reach remote valleys.”
Environmental lawyer Sanaullah Khan believes the real issue is coordination: “Policies exist, but execution is missing. Without connecting social protection with energy access, we’re just producing reports.”
Climate Justice: Whose Responsibility?
The World Bank estimates Pakistan loses nearly 9 percent of its GDP annually to climate damage and pollution. Yet little of the funding for climate resilience reaches provincial communities. In KP, most “green” projects focus on tree plantations, while clean-energy access gets minimal attention.
“Tree planting makes for good headlines, but clean energy saves lives,” argues Dr Anila Rahman of SDPI. The Billion Tree Tsunami initiative, launched in 2014, restored some forest cover but later drew criticism for weak oversight. Activists say without incentives for local communities, saplings can’t survive when people still need firewood to stay warm.
What Can Be Done
Experts agree that both emergency relief and long-term reform are needed.
In the short term, government and NGOs could introduce winter-fuel support for low-income households, distribute efficient biomass or solar heaters, and create community warming centres during severe cold waves.
Long-term, investment in micro-hydro plants, biogas, and solar heating could offer rural families affordable clean energy. Promoting improved stove designs and proper ventilation would reduce indoor smoke dramatically.
KP’s Climate Change Department has proposed small-scale renewable pilots, but most await funding. Local NGOs such as Blue Veins and the Sarhad Rural Support Programme are testing solar-heating prototypes in mountain areas, though coverage is limited.
“Energy access is a human right,” says activist Farah Gul of Blue Veins. “Until every family can heat their home safely, climate justice remains incomplete.”
The Journalist’s Risk
Reporting on the environment in Pakistan is increasingly dangerous.
In 2024, the Pakistan Press Foundation documented at least 12 cases of intimidation against journalists covering deforestation and resource misuse. “These stories expose where money flows and who benefits,” says a senior Peshawar reporter. “That makes them risky.”
A Province at the Crossroads
On Peshawar’s smoky streets, survival carries the scent of burning plastic and wood.
The fires that keep families alive are also consuming their air, forests, and tomorrow. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s winters now tell a deeper story — one of inequality, policy failure, and quiet endurance.
Each spark in a dark room reveals a national truth: until energy poverty becomes central to Pakistan’s climate strategy, the country’s path to sustainability will remain half-lit — and half-breathless.
Policy Gaps and Slow Response
Pakistan’s National Climate Change Policy (2021) recognises clean-energy access as essential, but progress is sluggish. Projects promoting biogas and LPG remain pilot-level, and public awareness about safe heating stays minimal.
“KP needs a proper winter-resilience plan,” says researcher Adnan Khan, “not just emergency gas rationing.”
Mitigating the Risk: Local Solutions
Though structural reforms take time, community-level interventions can save lives right now.
Dr Saqib Ullah from Khyber Teaching Hospital stresses, “Household smoke exposure should be treated as a public-health emergency. We see the same preventable illnesses every winter.”
Environmental specialists recommend winter safety shelters, air-quality alerts, and awareness drives led by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. NGOs can help distribute smoke-efficient stoves and promote proper ventilation.
“Mitigation starts at home — with awareness, cleaner fuels, and forest protection,” Dr Ullah adds. Even modest steps can transform winter from a season of suffering into one of resilience.
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