Pakistan's Punjab government in a bid to combat the hazardous smog conditions in the province, shut down amusement parks and museums for 10 days, from November 8 to 17, ARY News reported.
As per the ban imposed on Friday, the districts affected by this ban include Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Gujarat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Chiniot, Jhang, and Toba Tek Singh, ARY News reported. Lodhran, Vehari, and Khanewal districts are also under smog-related restrictions.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan's air pollution reached an alarming level, with seven cities topping the list of the world's most polluted cities, as per ARY News. Pakistan's meteorologists predicted worsening smog conditions due to low wind speeds of 11km/h around Lahore and 7km/h near Multan.
Multan's air quality had an AQI score of 2,135, and that of Lahore was 676. Peshawar, Islamabad, Hariput, Rawalpindi and Karachi fell under the 'hazardous air quality' category, ARY News reported.
Earlier on Thursday, Lahore ranked number one on the most polluted city rankings, released by IQAir at a staggering 784.
Lahore's atmosphere has remained dangerous for its residents for weeks following its position as one of the cities with the world's highest AQI. The pollution levels have time and again touched 1,000 for the city.
As per Geo News, the prolonged exposure has increased hospital admissions for respiratory issues, with Lahore and other cities like Multan, Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Gujranwala severely affected.
The persistent dangerous atmosphere has made it difficult for citizens to breathe, leaving them vulnerable to respiratory diseases, as they struggle to continue with their daily activities.
Doctors have advised the residents of Lahore to wear masks when stepping outside their homes.
Geo News reported that private and government educational institutions, teaching up to the higher secondary level, in the city as well as other districts of Pakistan's Punjab have also been closed by the government till November 17, as per notification.
Meanwhile, the Punjab education department has ordered to keep tuition centres and academies closed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa has accused Arvind Kejriwal's AAP - in power before the BJP won the February election - of allowing more than 1.08 lakh vehicles to run on city roads despite each emitting high levels of carbon monoxide.
An integrated command and control centre has been proposed in the 2025-26 Delhi budget, presented by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, for real-time monitoring of air quality, water pollution, noise levels, and waste management.
As part of broader strategy to tackle the expected winter pollution peak, the Delhi government will install six new air quality monitoring stations across the national capital over the next three months, Environment Minister said.
Delhi remained India's most polluted megacity by a wide margin during the 2024-25 winter, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 175 micrograms per cubic metre, according to an analysis released on Tuesday.
A small city on the Meghalaya-Assam border, nearly 2,000 kilometres away from Delhi, is the most polluted in the world, according to a report published by a global pollution watchdog.
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