Schools to close as air pollution hits record high in Pakistan’s Lahore

Unprecedented air pollution levels prompt authorities to take emergency measures.

Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore will close primary schools for a week after it saw “unprecedented” pollution levels, government authorities have said.

For days, the city of 14 million people has been enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.

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

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

“Weather forecast for the next six days shows that wind patterns will remain the same. Therefore we are closing all government and private primary schools in Lahore for a week,” Jahangir Anwar, a senior environmental protection official in Lahore, told the AFP news agency.