Smog kills joy as parks, playgrounds closed in Pakistan's Punjab

Pakistan imposed a ban on residents of some cities in the province of Punjab on Friday restricting their entry into public spaces as smog levels soar.

The nine-day ban, issued by the Punjab government from Nov. 8 to Nov. 17, will bar entry to all parks, zoos, playgrounds and playlands, historical places, monuments, and museums.

The ban includes the districts of Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahuddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Faisalabad, Chiniot, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Multan, Lodhran, Vehari and Khanewal, according to an official notification.

A copy of the official notification issued by the Punjab government announcing a ban on entry to public spaces.Nukta

Earlier this week, Punjab implemented a work-from-home policy in response to intensifying smog that has affected millions in the province.

The government has closed primary schools, banned three-wheelers or rickshaws, halted some building work, and told people to stay indoors. It has also set up a "smog war room" to monitor the situation and oversee action to combat the pollution.

Lahore most polluted city

Pakistan’s megacity of Lahore near the border with India regularly registers among the world's most polluted cities.

Smog is particularly bad in winter as a result of low-grade fuel from factories and vehicles in the city of 14 million, where denser cold air traps emissions at ground level. Seasonal crop burn-off by farmers on the outskirts of the provincial capital is also a major contributing factor.

Swiss group IQAir, which draws data from 14 regional monitoring stations, rated Lahore the world's most polluted city a day earlier, with an air quality index (AQI) score of 1165, more than 120 times the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Several parts of South Asia suffer pollution every winter as cold air traps pollutants, such as emissions, dust, and smoke from burning on farms to clear the remnants of rice crops before wheat is planted.

Nouman Younus, spokesperson of the Smog Cell of Environment Protection Department, addresses members of the media (not pictured) about the operations of the newly established Smog War Room, in Lahore, Pakistan November 7, 2024.Reuters

Leaders mull climate diplomacy

Lahore officials have previously blamed pollution on vehicle fuel of poor quality, as well as construction and industrial activity.

This year, however, more than ever before, the provincial government has blamed toxic air wafting in from neighboring India, where northern regions are also battling hazardous air.

IQAir said the Indian capital of New Delhi was the world's second-most polluted city on Wednesday, with a score of 299.

The chief minister of Punjab, whose capital is Lahore, has called for "climate diplomacy" with arch-rival India to combat smog ahead of the winter months.

"We should talk to them, this is called climate diplomacy. We should do it with India," said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif earlier this month.

The province is also using cloud seeding to create artificial rain.