Islamabad, Nov 6: Punjab Government Shuts Down Schools and Colleges Amid Severe Smog in Four Divisions. Recently, with the air pollution level, increasing in Punjab; the provincial government has decided to shut all schools including public & private, Primary, Secondary up to the higher Secondary till further Notice. Major cities will shut schools in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Multan will join the online classes from November 17 due to worsening air quality.
Punjab’s Senior Minister Maryam Aurangzeb commenting on the current scenario attributed smog to crop residue burning and emission from industries. Recently, Lahore’s Air Quality index has reached at a dangerous level and crossed the figure 1000 points. In order to protect public health of its citizens, the government has embarked on calling on schools to adopt online learning and also has put in place compulsory measures like wearing of masks.
This mode of learning is expected to be continued until the problem of air pollution is solved. besides, 50% of governmental and private offices workers will be allowed to work from home, and all the governmental and private meetings will be conducted virtually to reduction contact. There’s also the Smog War Room, established by the government at the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor pollution and make further decisions in that case.
More specifically, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in particular, though many other pollutants are also dangerously high in certain Pakistani cities, including Lahore: it is forty times above the WHO limits. Pollution by smog has become critical problem as experts and doctors have said that it’s dangerous for human health in particular to children. Punjab is currently one of Pakistan’s most polluted provinces, and given the situation’s ongoing rise, more immediate and practical solutions are needed.
