Lahore primary schools to remain closed for one week amid thickening smog

LAHORE: Owing to the hazardous smog, the Punjab government on Sunday announced that primary schools would remain closed for the next week in Lahore.

According to an official notification, both private and public schools up to the 5th grade will remain closed from November 4 and 9 in the light of intensifying smog crisis. 

The megapolis has continuously been topping the world air quality index (AQI) chart for over a week with the situation becoming risky the health of its residents.

For days, the city of 14 million people has been affected by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.

The air quality index (AQI) in Punjab capital exceeded 1,000 once again on Sunday, making it the most polluted city in the world.

As per the Swiss air quality monitor, IQAir, level of deadly PM2.5 pollutants — the fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health — peaked at 613, which is 122.6 times higher than the level considered unhealthy by the World Health Organisation.

The dense smog could not diminish in Lahore despite the provincial governments' taking multiple measures to mitigate it.

The Punjab government on October 30 announced imposing "green lockdown" in air pollution hotspots of the city as precautionary measure.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore today, Punjab's Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said two more regions in Lahore would be marked for green lockdown next week as the pollution level was not dying down.

Viewing the wind pattern, the province would continue to face spike in pollution level in the morning for the next week, said Marriyum, who holds multiple portfolios including environment protection and climate change.

"Playgroup to primary group classes will remain off while strict vigilance will be kept on children above primary classes," she said, adding wearing mask should be made mandatory at government and private schools.

She also warned that construction sites would be permanently shut down if guidelines are not followed.

The minister emphasised that smog could not be controlled without talking to India, as most of the pollution was coming from across the border.

“Though local factors are also behind the smog, however, the winds coming from the neighbouring country are affecting Lahore the most. The citizens are inhaling methane gas," she said.

She said smog had spread to Islamabad as well.

Drawing comparison between smog and coronavirus, Marriyum said COVID-19 entered Pakistan through airports and smog was also like coronavirus as it reached here through the border. She said the local factors made the smog more precarious.