Zürcher Nachrichten - Pakistan's Punjab province shuts schools in smog-hit main cities

EUR -
AED 3.93398
AFN 71.761178
ALL 96.184036
AMD 414.757133
ANG 1.930797
AOA 977.344039
ARS 1063.26447
AUD 1.6327
AWG 1.919874
AZN 1.823654
BAM 1.922361
BBD 2.163055
BDT 128.0231
BGN 1.950805
BHD 0.403604
BIF 3103.394723
BMD 1.071059
BND 1.410158
BOB 7.403157
BRL 6.437177
BSD 1.071354
BTN 90.109743
BWP 14.246064
BYN 3.505982
BYR 20992.764993
BZD 2.159418
CAD 1.490176
CDF 3046.092941
CHF 0.938826
CLF 0.037481
CLP 1034.17195
CNY 7.68849
CNH 7.625188
COP 4730.33401
CRC 547.766748
CUC 1.071059
CUP 28.383075
CVE 108.483828
CZK 25.362489
DJF 190.348672
DKK 7.456672
DOP 64.77229
DZD 143.330274
EGP 52.696227
ERN 16.065892
ETB 129.544769
FJD 2.417277
FKP 0.819541
GBP 0.833054
GEL 2.907955
GGP 0.819541
GHS 17.565143
GIP 0.819541
GMD 76.582255
GNF 9243.243099
GTQ 8.268179
GYD 224.129287
HKD 8.327465
HNL 26.862018
HRK 7.378561
HTG 140.976466
HUF 411.343578
IDR 17006.281764
ILS 4.011728
IMP 0.819541
INR 90.31794
IQD 1403.087864
IRR 45083.569503
ISK 148.309377
JEP 0.819541
JMD 169.383653
JOD 0.759698
JPY 165.172898
KES 138.166733
KGS 92.323836
KHR 4364.567395
KMF 482.566019
KPW 963.953253
KRW 1502.626776
KWD 0.328708
KYD 0.892762
KZT 525.268307
LAK 23497.972802
LBP 95893.737729
LKR 313.946128
LRD 204.545587
LSL 18.614715
LTL 3.16256
LVL 0.647873
LYD 5.178605
MAD 10.491073
MDL 19.133995
MGA 4942.939611
MKD 61.607203
MMK 3478.759277
MNT 3639.460001
MOP 8.575159
MRU 42.730537
MUR 49.825952
MVR 16.50489
MWK 1858.82609
MXN 22.145749
MYR 4.716412
MZN 68.413986
NAD 18.604608
NGN 1790.800738
NIO 39.398908
NOK 11.914176
NPR 144.175786
NZD 1.80278
OMR 0.412364
PAB 1.071256
PEN 4.041642
PGK 4.295485
PHP 63.067727
PKR 297.651766
PLN 4.362367
PYG 8377.281239
QAR 3.899194
RON 4.975603
RSD 117.015356
RUB 105.374312
RWF 1461.996133
SAR 4.02355
SBD 8.889072
SCR 14.586835
SDG 644.238629
SEK 11.667094
SGD 1.429784
SHP 0.819541
SLE 24.366729
SLL 22459.577469
SOS 611.574969
SRD 37.385286
STD 22168.767915
SVC 9.373945
SYP 2691.069258
SZL 18.604814
THB 36.716456
TJS 11.409432
TMT 3.748708
TND 3.327242
TOP 2.508523
TRY 36.695886
TTD 7.266534
TWD 34.630034
TZS 2918.636739
UAH 44.432813
UGX 3933.541225
USD 1.071059
UYU 44.574646
UZS 13704.205318
VEF 3879969.083263
VES 46.486825
VND 27188.843845
VUV 127.15836
WST 3.000235
XAF 644.736107
XAG 0.031752
XAU 0.000394
XCD 2.894592
XDR 0.802631
XOF 645.312921
XPF 119.331742
YER 267.577403
ZAR 19.017431
ZMK 9640.817422
ZMW 28.898062
ZWL 344.880702
  • RBGPF

    3.1700

    64.17

    +4.94%

  • RYCEF

    0.1600

    7.46

    +2.14%

  • CMSC

    -0.1600

    24.52

    -0.65%

  • NGG

    -1.7200

    63.75

    -2.7%

  • RIO

    -0.6300

    64.87

    -0.97%

  • GSK

    -1.0450

    35.975

    -2.9%

  • SCS

    0.6800

    13

    +5.23%

  • AZN

    -1.9100

    64.36

    -2.97%

  • BTI

    -0.1250

    35.335

    -0.35%

  • RELX

    -0.6200

    47.29

    -1.31%

  • JRI

    -0.0400

    13.23

    -0.3%

  • BCC

    4.2250

    142.715

    +2.96%

  • VOD

    -0.1500

    9.26

    -1.62%

  • BCE

    -0.2880

    28.552

    -1.01%

  • BP

    -0.2100

    29.75

    -0.71%

  • CMSD

    -0.1900

    24.85

    -0.76%

Pakistan's Punjab province shuts schools in smog-hit main cities
Pakistan's Punjab province shuts schools in smog-hit main cities / Photo: Arif ALI - AFP

Pakistan's Punjab province shuts schools in smog-hit main cities

Pakistan's most populated province of Punjab on Wednesday ordered schools closed in smog-hit main cities, shifting them to online learning until November 17, as the country battles record air pollution.

Text size:

The province, home to more than half of Pakistan's 240 million people, had earlier closed primary schools, curbed tuk-tuks and shuttered some barbeque restaurants in megacity Lahore.

On Wednesday, it ordered all shools to be shut in several major cities enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.

"Looking at the predicted air wind and air quality index we are closing all higher secondary schools," said Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Punjab during a press conference in Lahore.

The decision will affect millions of children in some of Pakistan's largest cities, including Punjab's provincial capital Lahore.

The minister said on Wednesday the air quality index (AQI), which measures a range of pollutants, spiked above 1,000 –- well above the level of 300 considered 'dangerous' – according to data from IQAir.

"This morning's AQI crossed 1,100," Aurangzeb said.

"I appeal to citizens, that for god's sake don't come out of your houses," she said adding that wearing a face mask was made mandatory in affected cities.

She also announced that half of the staff in public and private offices will work remotely.

"It's like a slow horror movie, constantly creeping up behind you," said Ayishm Ahmed Khan Burki, a 22-year-old student who transferred her courses from Lahore to capital Islamabad after suffering from allergies and asthma.

"Everyone has a right to clean air," she told AFP.

- Lahore admits 900 patients -

Seasonal crop burn-off by farmers on the outskirts of Lahore also contributes to toxic air the WHO says can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases.

The minister said in Lahore alone, more than 900 patients including children and the elderly were admitted in hospitals on Tuesday.

"Colds and fevers have become so widespread that everyone is heading to the hospitals," Muhammad Yousaf, a 50-year-old banker told AFP in Lahore.

"There are long queues at the hospitals' receptions, and patients are facing extended waiting times for their turn".

Other affected cities include Faisalabad, Pakistan's third-largest, as well as Multan and Gujranwala.

The decision follows last month's announcement by the provincial environmental protection agency of new restrictions in four "hot spots" in Lahore. Tuk-tuks with polluting two-stroke engines were banned, along with restaurants that operate barbecues without filters.

Pollution in excess of levels deemed safe by the WHO shortens the life expectancy of Lahore residents by an average of 7.5 years, according to the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute.

According to UNICEF, nearly 600 million children in South Asia are exposed to high levels of air pollution and half of childhood pneumonia deaths are associated with air pollution.

O.Pereira--NZN