A cyclist rides along a road engulfed in thick smog in Lahore on November 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The United Nation’s children’s agency on Monday (November 11, 2024) warned that the health of 11 million children in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is in danger because of air pollution that experts say has become a fifth season in recent years.

Also read: Pakistan bans entry to parks, zoos as air pollution worsens

Toxic smog has shrouded Pakistan’s cultural capital of Lahore and 17 other districts in Punjab since last month. Health officials say more than 40,000 people have been treated for respiratory ailments.

UNICEF warns of ‘devastating effects’

UNICEF’s representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil, in a statement urged the government to make urgent and greater efforts to reduce air pollution for the 11 million affected children under the age of 5 and others.

“Prior to these record-breaking levels of air pollution, about 12 per cent of deaths in children under 5 in Pakistan were due to air pollution,” Fadil said. “The impact of this year’s extraordinary smog will take time to assess, but we know that doubling and tripling the amount of pollution in the air will have devastating effects, particularly on children and pregnant women.”

Schools closed till Nov. 17

Pakistan has shut schools until November 17 in parts of Punjab as part of measures aimed at protecting children’s health. Authorities on Friday ordered the closure of all parks and museums for 10 days, and they have been urging people to avoid unnecessary travel.

According to the Environmental Protection Department in Punjab, Multan remained the most polluted city on Monday, with air quality index readings of about 800. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous to health.

Though the government has ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks, that has been widely disregarded. The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution.

Students wear mask to protect themselves from poor air quality due to increasing smog in the city as they arrive at their school, in Lahore, Pakistan
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan on Monday (November 4, 2024) blamed winds from India for worsening smog here, urging the Indian authorities to take up the matter seriously, after the air quality index in the capital city of Pakistan’s Punjab province hit a record high over the weekend.

Toxic grey smog has sickened tens of thousands of people, mainly children and elderly people, since last month when the air quality started worsening in Lahore, the city bordering India.

The concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particulate matter, in the air, approached 450, considered hazardous, the Punjab Environment Protection Department said.

“The wind direction brings air from India into Pakistan, yet India does not seem to be taking this problem as seriously as it should,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari told the media.

She urged the Indian side of Punjab state to take this matter seriously.

“Delhi ranks first in smog levels today, with Lahore following closely in second place. Delhi’s air quality index is around 393, while Lahore’s is close to 280,” she said, adding that China has been battling smog for the past 26 years.

Earlier, Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the province was going to request the Pakistan Foreign Office to take up the issue of cross-border pollution with India.

“The easterly winds from Amritsar and Chandigarh are spiking the air quality index in Lahore to over 1,000 for the past two days,” she said.

“The wind from India towards Lahore taking the smog to dangerous levels and the wind is likely to sustain its direction for at least next week. The people should take care of themselves by avoiding unnecessarily coming out of their houses. The elderly and children should be particularly careful,” Ms. Aurangzeb said.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also called for climate diplomacy with India and said she would soon write to the chief minister of the Indian side of Punjab to jointly address the issue of smog.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government has closed primary schools in Lahore for a week in the wake of rising smog.

The government has already closed schools for specially-abled children for three months.

Lahore was once known as a city of gardens, which were ubiquitous during the Mughal era from the 16th to 19th centuries. However, rapid urbanisation and surging population growth have left little room for greenery.