Ruhi Cenet is an independent journalist producing digital shorts for YouTube. In this episode, Cenet takes us on a journey through the streets of Lahore, which recorded the highest levels of pollution on earth in 2022, as measured by annual AQI (Air Quality Index) readings.

We learn a great deal about the ontological conditions of Lahore through the perspective of our tour guide, who describes the streets, alarmingly, as a kind of ‘dust hell’. In smell, the streets are sour and musty. We hear about the sensations of feeling dust inhaled, dust impairing vision, and dust mixing with sweat on the skin to form a cakey, mud-like substance. Living and working within these conditions is a battle for maintenance, typified by the stall owners we see batting off the dust settling on their goods with worn out feather dusters.

Cenet takes his own pollution monitor out onto the streets, recording readings well above what the EPA might consider a liveable and safe environment. We’re introduced to the threat that these compositions have on children’s lives, and also the economic impact of air pollution in Pakistan, which is introduced by Cenet to account for 5.6% of the GDP of the nation.