LAHORE: Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that easterly winds coming from India are pushing air from Amritsar and Chandigarh into Lahore. This has caused the city’s air quality index (AQI) to spike close to 1000 over the past two days.
Addressing a press conference and talking to a group of journalists here on Sunday, she noted that since the air speeds up while crossing the eastern corridor and then stagnates over Lahore, it intensifies the pollution, creating critically high AQI levels in the morning, which gradually decrease to below 200 by midday. Further deterioration of AQI is expected in the coming week, she said.
Aurangzeb announced that due to these factors, all private and public educational institutions, from playgroup to grade five, will remain closed from November 4 onward. This includes private schools, which are also mandated to comply. Authorities will use the week to conduct research, mapping, and studies to reassess and determine if extended school closures are needed. Preparations for two additional “green lockdowns” are also under way.
She emphasised that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has mobilized all departments over the past eight months to reduce smog, adhering to a set timeline.
Air monitor records pollution level in Lahore 80 times above WHO limit
Farmers are being provided with 1,000 super-seeders at a 60% subsidy, with a goal to supply 5,000 in total.
These machines are also available on a rental basis at the union council level to discourage farmers from burning rice crop residue.
Aurangzeb noted that unlike COVID-19, which spread through air travel, smog enters through cross-border wind corridors, carrying pollution from neighbouring areas and combining with local emissions.
The chief minister will be reaching out to India via diplomatic channels to address the issue, urging critics to avoid politicizing what she described as a matter of generational survival.
The government is actively implementing its own measures, including the closure of 550 kilns, shutdown of factories, and suspension of construction activities that fail to comply with SOPs. Vehicles emitting excessive smoke are also being impounded. Artificial rain technology is under development but currently lacks sufficient clouds for deployment.
The senior minister also stated that regular road sprinkling is under way, and the Environmental Protection Department has been restructured, increasing human resources, monitoring, and capacity. Plans are in place to introduce an electric mass transport system. She appealed to farmers to refrain from burning crop residue and adopt new technology.
She urged the public to ensure their vehicles are fit, use quality fuel, avoid burning garbage, wear masks, and keep children and the elderly indoors with windows and doors closed. Any smoke-related issues should be reported to helpline 1373.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024