Pakistan’s Punjab province banned most outdoor activities and ordered shops, markets and malls in some areas to close early Monday to prevent illnesses caused by intense air pollution.
The province has closed educational institutions and public places like parks and zoos till November 17, including Lahore, the world’s most polluted city in terms of air quality, according to live ratings by Swiss group IQAir.
The Punjab government, in an order issued late on Sunday night, said Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala districts have witnessed an unprecedented increase in patients suffering from respiratory diseases, eye and throat irritation and pink eye disease.
The new restrictions will also remain in force till November 17.
Image Credit: Reuters
The Punjab government said, “The spread of conjunctivitis/pink eye disease due to bacterial or viral infection, smoke, dust or chemical exposure is posing a serious and imminent threat to public health.”
The order said outdoor activities including sporting events, exhibitions and festivals and dining in restaurants are banned, but “inevitable religious rites” are exempted from the directive.
Shops like pharmacies, oil depots, dairy shops and fruit and vegetable shops have also been exempted from the instructions to close by 8 pm local time.
According to IQAir, Lahore’s air quality remained hazardous on Monday with an index score of over 600, but it was significantly lower than the level of 1,900 earlier this month.
A score of 0-50 is considered good.
UNICEF also on Monday called for greater efforts to reduce pollution and protect children’s health in Punjab, saying more than 11 million children under the age of five are at risk as they breathe toxic air.
“In addition, schools have been closed in smog-affected areas…education of approximately 16 million children in Punjab has been disrupted,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF representative in the country.
“Pakistan is already in the grip of an education emergency…it cannot afford to lose more learning,” he said.
Many parts of South Asia are shrouded in toxic smog every winter as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from farm fires.
Punjab has blamed its toxic air this year on pollution coming from India, where northern parts are also grappling with dangerous air, and said it would raise the issue with the neighboring country through its foreign ministry.
The Supreme Court of India on Monday directed the Delhi government to take a decision by November 25 on imposing a permanent ban on firecrackers, legal news portal Bar & Bench reported.
Despite the ban, firecrackers let off by revelers on Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, celebrated on October 31 this year, have added to the area’s pollution problem.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
