the city of Lahore, immersed in a cloud of pollution, will close its schools for a week

In the middle of the smog in Lahore, November 2, 2024. ARIF ALI / AFP Lahore, Pakistan’s second city, will close its schools for a week until primary school to avoid exposing millions of children to smog, this fog of pollution which is now reaching records daily, the authorities decided on Sunday, November 3. According to a decision by the local government, “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”. On Saturday, air pollution in Lahore reached a historic level, according to Jahangir Anwar, a senior environmental protection official in the local government. The concentration of PM2.5 polluting particles reached 610 micrograms per cubic meter, or 40 times the level considered acceptable by the World Health Organization (WHO). Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Pakistan, forced marriages on the rise in families made vulnerable by climate change Read later Plea for “smog diplomacy” On Wednesday, the provincial environmental protection agency announced new restrictions in four “hot spots” in the city – after already canceling all outdoor sporting activities in schools for three months. Tuk-tuks equipped with more polluting two-stroke engines are prohibited, as are restaurants that have barbecues without filters. Administrations and private companies will have half of their staff working from home from Monday. Construction work is halted and street food vendors, who often cook over open fires, must close at 8 p.m. “The level [de pollution] is due to the easterly wind corridor coming from India towards Lahore,” said Mr. Anwar, who pleads for “smog diplomacy”. Smog is particularly severe in winter, when cold, denser air traps emissions from poor-quality fuels used to power the city’s vehicles and factories at ground level. According to the WHO, prolonged exposure to smog can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases. The Punjab government on Saturday called on residents, especially “those suffering from respiratory, pulmonary and heart diseases, the elderly” to “not leave their homes”. If they go out, they must “must wear masks”. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers From London to Delhi, how the smog migrated east Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content



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