Punjab Region of Pakistan Smothered By Record-High Air Pollution

The Pakistani city of Lahore has suffered under blankets of thick smog this week. The pollution has prompted officials to close schools and businesses. They've also issued health warnings. They've asked workers to work from home, too. 

Lahore is home to 14 million people. It is the provincial capital of the Punjab region. The region runs along Pakistan's border with India. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Punjab has averaged over 1,100 for the past seven days. It even reached 1,900 on Sunday. The AQI is a measure of the amount of tiny, toxic smoke particles in air. The AQI labels any number above 300 as risky to human health.

Schools in Lahore have been closed since Wednesday. So have schools in 18 nearby districts. City officials have also banned the use of motorized rickshaws, unfiltered cooking systems, and other items that produce smoke. Still, hospitals have been crowded with patients having breathing and vision problems linked to the smog.   

Tens of thousands of patients were treated for breathing problems at hospitals and clinics in a week, Salman Kazmi told The Associated Press. Kazmi is vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association.

Some of the pollution is produced in Punjab. But Pakistan's government blames India for the worst of the fumes. There's been tightened controls against farmers there burning off the stubble of their summer crops to prepare for winter. But the process still occurs. The smoke this creates hangs thick in the air for miles.

Experts are looking at short-term fixes to the problem. These include cloud-seeding to produce artificial rain that might clear the air. Yet, the long-term issue “cannot be solved without talks with India,” Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told Reuters.

Reflect: Besides harming people’s health, what other effects might air pollution have on a city?