Due to record air pollution in Lahore, Pakistan, schools will be closed Environmental news

The unprecedented level of air pollution prompts the authorities to take emergency measures.

Pakistan’s second-largest city, Lahore, will close primary schools for a week due to “unprecedented” levels of pollution, government officials said.

For days, the city of 14 million was shrouded in smog, a mixture of fog and pollutants caused by low-level diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burning and winter chill.

The air quality index, which measures a range of pollutants, topped 1,000 on Saturday – well above the 300 level considered “dangerous”, according to IQAir.

The Punjab government also recorded peaks of over 1,000 on Sunday, which it said was “unprecedented”.

“The weather forecast for the next six days shows that the wind pattern will remain the same. So we are closing all public and private primary schools in Lahore for a week,” Jahangir Anwar, a senior environmental official in Lahore, told AFP.

“This smog is very harmful for children. Masks should be mandatory in schools. We are keeping an eye on the health of children in senior classes,” said Punjab Senior Minister Marium Aurangzeb at a press conference on Sunday.

She added that smog counters have been installed in hospitals.

Inhaling toxic air can have catastrophic health consequences. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that long-term exposure can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases.

On Saturday, the concentration of the deadly pollutant PM2.5 – the fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health – exceeded 40 times the level considered acceptable by the WHO. The PM2.5 level on Sunday morning exceeded this level and then decreased slightly.

Children are especially vulnerable

Last week, the provincial environmental protection agency announced new restrictions in four “hot spots” in the city.

Tuk-tuks equipped with polluting two-stroke engines are banned, as are restaurants that cook barbecue without filters.

In public institutions and private companies, from Monday, half of the employees will work from home.

Children are particularly vulnerable because they have less developed lungs and breathe faster, taking in more air relative to their size than adults.

Last month, authorities banned schoolchildren from playing outdoor sports until January and adjusted school hours to prevent children from traveling when pollution is at its worst.

According to data from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, pollution above levels considered safe by the WHO shortens the life expectancy of Lahore residents by an average of 7.5 years.