Pakistan’s Punjab closes schools in cities worst hit by toxic smog

Islamabad, November 6 (EFE) – Pakistan’s Punjab province, the country’s most populous, on Wednesday ordered the closure of schools in the cities of this eastern Pakistani province most affected by toxic smog to November 17th.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Punjab, Marriyum Aurangzeb, announced the measure at a press conference held in the city of Lahore, the capital of the province.

The regional government had already closed schools in this city of nearly 15 million residents until the end of the week due to the levels of environmental pollution, which reached record highs. -air quality objective IQ Air.

Schools will remain closed in four regions of Pakistan’s Punjab for up to eleven days.

“Taking into account the wind forecast and the air quality index we are going to close all schools up to secondary education,” said Aurangzeb.

The decision will affect schools in the cities of Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan.

The Punjabi chief minister said that schools will organize online classes for the students of the four affected regions during this period.

In addition, half of the employees in public and private offices in Punjab will have to work remotely, and all official meetings will be held online.

The use of the mask has also been declared mandatory in the affected regions.

Aurangzeb also announced that the provincial Government has created a “war room” to combat smog pollution in cities.

The Prime Minister blamed the toxic cloud on pollution coming from India, just 25 kilometers from Lahore, and the burning of crop residues.

Lahore was the most polluted city on the planet for several days last week, and this Wednesday it recorded a concentration of PM 2.5 particles – the most harmful to health – of 674 micrograms per cubic meter of air , according to data from the Swiss platform specialized in air quality measurement, IQAir.

This figure is 45 times higher than the levels recommended by the WHO, which establishes dangerous concentrations of more than 15 micrograms per cubic meter for one day, and reduces this limit to 5 micrograms per cubic meter for a whole year.

(c) EFE Group