The Punjab education department on Thursday decided to keep all public and private schools in Lahore, Gujranwala and Faisalabad closed on November 15 and 16 due to poor air quality.
According to a notification issued by the provincial government, the schools will remain closed due to "dense smog" in the three districts.
Punjab Minister for Schools Education Dr Murad Raas in a tweet vowed that the government will protect school-going children at all costs. "The Punjab government is taking all necessary steps to improve air quality," he added.
On Wednesday, the provincial education department had prohibited holding all outdoor activities in all public and private schools across the province till December 20 for the same reason.
The government had directed all students to wear air filter masks during school hours. It had also decided to hold awareness sessions on environment in all schools. This is for the second time in a month that the government has decided to keep schools closed due to smog.
Lahore's air quality remained 'hazardous' with an air quality ranking of 447, according to Air Visual's Air Quality Index (AQI) list on Wednesday.
The Punjab capital is ranked the second most polluted city in the world, according to Air Visual, which records air pollution levels across the globe in real time. New Delhi holds the top spot, with an AQI of 556 recorded on Wednesday.
An AQI ranking between 301-500 (or above) is classified as 'hazardous' and would "trigger a health warning of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected," according to Air Now.
For the last four years, smog, rightly being called the fifth season of Lahore, has deprived the people of sunshine and dusk-hour charm as layers of toxic smoke engulf the horizon from November to February. The situation has worsened this year.
Earlier this month, a group of students petitioned the Lahore High Court seeking a change in the AQI measurement system, and implementation of the Smog Policy.
Air quality continues to remain in the 'severe' category in Delhi and surrounding cities on Wednesday morning with pollution levels expected to enter the "severe plus" or "emergency" category.
According to the Central Pollution Control Bureau (CPCB), air quality index (AQI) in Delhi's Lodhi Road read 500 at 6 am and 472 in Noida. On Tuesday, Delhi's AQI stood at 425 at 4 pm and 437 at 9 pm. It was 360 at 4 pm on Monday.
The levels of PM 2.5 -- tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter that can enter deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream -- shot up to 337 micrograms per cubic metre, breaching its emergency threshold of 300, by 9 pm in Delhi-NCR.The levels of PM10 increased to 484 micrograms per cubic metre, nearly five times the safe limit of 100 micrograms per cubic metre. Most of the 37 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi recorded air quality in the severe category.
An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'. An AQI above 500 falls in the 'severe plus' category.
WHY THE DIP AGAIN
The noxious haze returned to Delhi and its suburbs on Tuesday with raging stubble fires in neighbouring states and fall in the temperature.
Experts said the spike in pollution levels can be attributed to a significant decline in wind speed. Incidents of stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab have increased and northwesterly winds have been bringing more farm fire plumes to the Delhi-NCR region, they said. The condition may slightly improve by November 15, experts added.
According to SAFAR, the share of stubble-burning accounted for 25 per cent of Delhi's pollution on Tuesday, up from 18 per cent on Monday.
A dip in wind speed and temperature makes the air cold and denser, leading to accumulation of pollutants, said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department's regional weather forecasting centre.
WHAT IS GOVT DOING AS POLLUTION LEVEL PLUNGES
Last week, the apex court had pulled up the Centre and state governments for their inability to curb stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana and bring air pollution in Delhi under control. It had asked the governments if they feel ashamed that people are no longer safe even in their houses.
The top court had also ordered that all farmers be given a Rs 100 per quintal incentive to prevent them from setting their fields on fire in preparation for the next crop, and provide them free machines to get rid of the agriculture residue.
The period between October 15 and November 15 is considered critical as a maximum number of stubble-burning incidents take place in this span in Punjab and adjoining states, which is one of the main reasons for the alarming spike in pollution in Delhi-NCR.
