Punjab orders closure of schools, private workplaces on Mondays as smog situation worsens in Lahore

ISLAMABAD: The provincial administration of Punjab on Monday decided to shut down schools and private offices in Lahore for three days a week until January 15 to deal with the worsening smog situation in the city.
Lahore was recently declared as one of the world’s most polluted places by an international air quality monitoring platform, as the residents of the eastern Pakistani city complained of health issues and breathing difficulties.
An official notification circulated by the provincial authorities acknowledged the deteriorating air quality in Lahore, saying there was “sufficient ground” to proceed under The Punjab National Calamities (Prevention & Relief) Act 1958 to ensure public safety.
“All private offices being operated by companies, private sector entities and other individuals, within the territorial limits of Lahore Metropolitan Corporation, shall remain closed on every Monday, in addition to Saturday and Sunday, with effect from 27.11.2021 until 15.1.2022,” the notification read. “However, their staff may work from home.”
The provincial administration issued a similar directive for all “public and private educational institutions” in the city, instructing them not ask their students to come on Saturday, Sunday and Monday while allowing these institutes to “arrange virtual classes.”
Smog begins to engulf Lahore and its adjoining settlements every year during winter season.
Pakistan’s top climate change official Malik Amin Aslam recently told a private news channel that 40 percent of it was caused by the transportation sector, as he emphasized the need to move toward better quality fuel and electric vehicles.
He also mentioned crop burning that has become a norm during the season, though he noted that 90 percent of such cases were taking place in India.
Aslam hinted at the possibility of relying on artificial rain to address the challenge of smog in the coming years, adding that Pakistani authorities were already studying the cloud-seeding technology developed in the United Arab Emirates for that purpose.