In brief
In a dramatic response to chronic air quality issues, Lahore closes schools while residents face severe health risks.
Classes for primary school students in Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city, will be suspended this week due to alarming levels of air pollution that soared over the weekend. Local education authorities in Punjab province declared on Sunday that all schools up to the fifth grade would close as the Air Quality Index (AQI) hit a staggering record of over 1,000, well into the hazardous category. The World Health Organization considers anything above an AQI of 301 to be dangerous.The extreme PM2.5 pollution levels reached near 30 times more than the WHO's recommended safety guidelines, leading environmental advocates to describe the situation as catastrophic. Environmental lawyer Ahmad Rafay Alam warned that the pollution levels were so severe they were "outside the range of classification," dubbing the scenario an "apocalypse."According to recent data from IQAir, Lahore has consistently topped the list of the world's most polluted cities, with estimates suggesting that residents are losing an average of two years of life expectancy due to the deteriorating air quality. As authorities and citizens look for accountability, tensions have escalated, with some officials pointing to neighboring India as a potential contributor to the worsening conditions. Lahore's pollution crisis endangers public health and highlights the pressing need for effective climate action in Pakistan, which is among the countries suffering the most severe air quality issues globally.
