Pakistan’s province declares a state of emergency due to smog and closes two cities

LAHORE – A Pakistani province declared a health emergency on Friday due to smog and imposed a shutdown in two major cities.

Smog has choked Punjab for weeks, nauseatingly almost 2 million people and covers large parts of the province in a toxic haze.

A senior provincial minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, declared a health emergency at a news conference and announced measures to combat the growing crisis.

Time off for medical staff is cancelled, all educational institutions are closed until further notice, restaurants close at 4 p.m., while takeaway meals are available until 8 p.m. Authorities impose a lockdown in the cities of Multan and Lahore and halting construction work at those two sites.

“Smog is currently a national disaster,” Aurangzeb said. “It won’t all be over in a month or a year. We will evaluate the situation after three days and then announce a further strategy.”

Average air quality index values ​​in parts of Lahore, a city of 11 million, exceeded 600 on Friday. Anything above 300 is considered hazardous to health.

The dangerous smog is a byproduct of large numbers of vehicles, construction and industrial work and crop burning at the start of the winter wheat planting season, experts say.

According to Pakistan’s National Weather Center, rain and wind are forecast for the next few days, which will reduce smog in parts of Punjab and improve air quality.

Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, professor at Jinnah Hospital Lahore and Allama Iqbal Medical College, said the government should take preventive measures long before smog takes over.

“It is more of an emergency than COVID-19 because every patient is suffering from respiratory infections and the disease is prevalent at the mass level,” he told The Associated Press earlier this week.