Pakistan’s Punjab shuts schools, sets up ‘smog war room’ over air pollution

Record-high air pollution is sending more people to hospitals and clinics, according to doctors in Lahore.

Authorities in the Pakistani province of Punjab have ordered educational institutions in several areas to close until November 17 and shift to online teaching to protect children and curb pollution.

The province, home to more than half of Pakistan’s 240 million people, had earlier closed primary schools, curbed tuk-tuks and shuttered some barbecue restaurants in megacity Lahore.

“Looking at the predicted air wind and air quality index, we are closing all higher secondary schools,” said Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Punjab, during a press conference in Lahore on Wednesday.

Live rankings by Swiss group IQAir gave Lahore a pollution index score of 1,165, followed by the Indian capital of New Delhi, with 299.

“This morning’s AQI crossed 1,100 … I appeal to citizens, that for God’s sake don’t come out of your houses,” Aurangzeb added.

Record-high air pollution in Lahore is sending more people to hospitals and private clinics, doctors said, as authorities warned a complete lockdown could be imminent if residents fail to don face masks and follow other guidance related to smog.

Doctors highlighted that most people are complaining of either having a cough or they feel their eyes are burning.

“Tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory diseases were treated at hospitals and clinics in a week,” Salman Kazmi, vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association in Punjab, told the Associated Press.

Other affected cities include Faisalabad, Pakistan’s third-largest, as well as Multan and Gujranwala.

‘Smog war room’

Th province of Punjab has also set up a “smog war room” to tackle severe pollution, officials told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

The war room will bring together staff from eight departments, with a single person charged with overseeing tasks that range from controlling the burning of farm waste to managing traffic.

Twice daily sessions will analyse info and forecasts to brief stakeholders on efforts to fight pollution, and issue daily advisories, the officials added.

The Pakistan government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution.

But Wednesday’s index score for Lahore fell short of last week’s unprecedented reading of 1,900 in some areas, an excess of more than 120 times over recommended levels, prompting bans on some building activity and orders to work from home.

At the time, Minister Aurangzeb blamed the toxic air on pollution drifting across the border with India just 25km (16 miles) away. Northern areas of India are also battling severe pollution.

The Punjab government will ask Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take up the matter with India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Aurangzeb told the Indian Express newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday.

Intense pollution is a common issue in South Asia every winter. It takes place when cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from farm fires.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), nearly 600 million children in South Asia are exposed to high levels of this air pollution and half of childhood pneumonia deaths are associated with it.