Lahore, Pakistan's second city, will close its schools for a week, including primary schools, to avoid exposing millions of children to smog, the haze of pollution that is now reaching record levels every day.
"With winds blowing from India towards Lahore and peaks (in pollution), (...) nursery and primary schools will be closed for a week," Marriyum Aurangzeb, a minister in the Punjab state government, told a press conference.
"All classes" welcoming children up to 10 years old, "public and private, under the jurisdiction of the city of Lahore, must remain closed for a week from Monday," indicates a decision of the local government consulted by AFP.
This document indicates that the situation will be re-evaluated next Saturday to determine whether this closure is renewed.
"The weather forecast indicates that the wind pattern will remain the same for the next six days," Jahangir Anwar, a senior environment protection official in the Punjab government, told AFP.
India and Pakistan, neighbouring countries whose relations are at their lowest, regularly accuse each other of causing pollution peaks on each other's territory.
Smog is a mixture of fog and pollutant emissions caused by low-grade diesel fumes, seasonal agricultural burns and winter cooling.
Prolonged exposure to smog can cause stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory illnesses, especially in children.
"Smog is very dangerous for children and masks will be mandatory in schools, we are keeping a close eye on the health of students in higher classes," Ms. Aurangzeb continued.
"Smog stands have been installed in hospitals, the smog episode is more dangerous than the Covid episode," she insisted again.
– Pollution “never seen before” –
On Saturday, the concentration of PM2.5 microparticles in the air of Lahore reached more than 40 times the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization. On Sunday, this threshold was exceeded in the morning before decreasing slightly.
Lahore has already banned polluting tuk-tuks, barbecues and some construction sites in its centre. Starting Monday, half of public and private sector employees are supposed to work from home and schools are banned from holding outdoor sports activities until the end of January.
On Saturday, the air quality index in the city of 14 million people exceeded 1,000, while the air is considered "poor" at 180 and "hazardous" at 300, according to the index. On Sunday, it also saw peaks of over 1,000, which the Punjab government said was "unheard of" before.
Last winter, school hours were reduced in Punjab due to smog, holidays were extended and masks were made mandatory.
Smog is particularly pronounced in winter, when cold, denser air traps at ground level emissions from poor-quality fuels used to power the city's vehicles and factories.
Pakistan, the world's fifth most populous country, is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, which scientists link to climate change.
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