Punjab govt orders school closures, shift to online education amid deathly smog

The Punjab government on Wednesday ordered the closure of all educational institutions from November 7 to 17 as the province grapples with deadly smog and an alarming Air Quality Index (AQI).

On Thursday, the Punjab government declared smog a calamity as the provincial administration notified a host of measures, such as vacations for disabled children and a ban on all activities “causing or leading to smog formation” to improve the hazardous air quality across the province, particularly in Lahore.

A day earlier, the provincial government imposed a green lockdown in several areas of Lahore it considered “smog hotspots”, but enforcement remained lax at best on the first day. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has now declared smog a calamity under Section 3 of the Punjab National Cala­mities (Prevention and Relief) Act, 1958.

This law allows the government to “provide for the maintenance and restoration of order in areas affected by certain calamities and for the prevention and control of and relief against such calamities”.

On Tuesday, residents of Lahore struggled with hazardous air quality as the AQI hit 609, making it the most polluted city globally.

A notification from the Punjab government on Wednesday said that all “educational institutions, including private tuition centres (public/private) up to Higher Secondary Level (12th grade/A-level) shall remain closed and shift to online mode.”

The districts included in the notification are Lahore, Sheikhpura, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Faisalabad, Chiniot, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Multan, Lodhran, Vehari, and Khanewal.

The notification emphasised that the government is “striving hard to control all possible intrinsic factors which cause air pollution and deteriorate the quality of ambient air.”

Face mask advisory to general public

Also on Wednesday, the Punjab government issued an advisory to the public to wear a face mask in open public spaces of Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan divisions till January 31, 2025.

The notification took note that the “recent spike in respiratory diseases due to smoke, dust etc is posing a serious and imminent threat to public health.”

“It is imperative to take all possible safety measures for prevention of morbidity and disease caused by deteriorating air quality,” the notification read.

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