Schools shut as Lahore’s hazardous air quality makes it 2nd most polluted city
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The air quality in Lahore is constantly on decline as on Friday the AQ level in the city was recorded 466 making it the second most polluted city in the world, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The air quality level in different areas of Lahore was as under: Fida Hussain Road 592; Kot Lakhpath 497; Main Boulevard 491; Iqbal Town 479, Shahdara 478; Syed Maratab Ali Road 469; and Johar Town A-Block 453.
The temperature of the city was recorded 14 degree Celsius today. The weather will remain cold and dry with no chances of rain.
The health department has advised citizens to adopt precautionary measures like wearing masks and glasses while going out.
Lahore schools remain closed today
The Lahore High Court took serious exception to the provincial government’s ‘lackluster’ response to the smog hazard and ordered it to close schools for at least three days and adopt other measures to improve air quality of the city.
Acting upon the court orders, the provincial government issued notification to reduce the school week from 6 days to just 4 days and announced Friday, Saturday and Sunday as holidays.
Today, is the first day of three-day school holidays in Lahore.
The Punjab government has also declared an environment emergency to tackle the smog nuisance.
The district education authority Lahore has hinted to impose a heavy fine on schools which will violate the court order and remain open.
The education authority has formed committees in five tehsils of Lahore under the supervision of deputy DEOs which will visit schools in their respective areas and impose heavy fines and issue show-cause notice if found them open.
The education authority also hinted at cancellation of their licence if they flout the school closure order.
Weather to remain dry, cold in most parts of country
According to the metrological department report, on Friday, apart from cloudy skies in the upper parts of the country, there is a possibility of rain at a few places in Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir and snowfall on the mountains.
Fog is expected in the plains of Punjab, Upper Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the night hours.
The weather in the last 24 hours has been dry and cold in most parts of the country, while the weather in Gilgit-Baltistan and North Balochistan has been extremely cold during the night and morning hours.
The plains of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Upper Sindh remained under the influence of fog.
Minimum temperature recorded today: Leh minus 05, Gops minus 04, Ziarat minus 03, Kalam minus 02, Astoor minus 01, Kalat, Gilgit and Skardu recorded 00 degree Celsius.