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In view of the plummeting air quality in Lahore city, Pakistan’s senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, in a press conference Sunday, said “the wind from India towards Lahore” is taking the smog to dangerous levels.
Pakistan’s Punjab minister Aurangzeb who holds the environment portfolio in the Cabinet, said they would write to the Foreign Office on Monday to take up the issue with New Delhi for talks on joint efforts to curb smog, as per Dawn.
This comes after Pakistan’s Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz last week hinted at approaching the Indian Punjab chief minister to put up a joint front against smog.
The air quality index (AQI) in Lahore hit a record high over the weekend, touching 1900 near the Pakistan-India border on Saturday, based on data released by the provincial government and Swiss group IQAir. The concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particulate matter, in the air approached 450, considered hazardous, the Punjab Environment Protection Department said.
Claiming that easterly winds from Amritsar and Chandigarh were spiking the AQI, the minister said winds would continue to blow towards Lahore for at least one week. “The wind from India towards Lahore…is taking the smog to dangerous levels and the wind is likely to sustain its direction for at least next week… People should take care of themselves by avoiding unnecessarily coming out of their houses. The elderly and children should be particularly careful…,” she said.
Further, Pakistani authorities have ordered the closure of primary schools in Lahore for a week starting Monday.
“In the wake of deteriorating air quality index and in light of order dated 03.11.2024 issued by director general [of] Environmental Protection Agency Punjab while exercising powers conferred under… the Punjab Environmental Protection Act 1997, it is notified that all classes up to 5th grade in all schools (public and private) located in…Lahore shall remain closed for one week w.e.f 04.11.2024 till 09.11.2024 (Saturday),” a notification issued by the provincial education department read.
The government, in a notification, has also directed people in Lahore to wear a face mask. Other measures include work from home for 50 per cent of employees as part of a “green lockdown”. Motorised rickshaws are also restricted. Wedding halls must close at 10 pm and artificial rain is likely to be used to combat the pollution.
“Authorities will use the week to conduct research, mapping, and studies to reassess and determine if extended school closures are needed,” Aurangzeb was quoted by the state-run APP as saying.
— With PTI inputs
