Air pollution in Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore soared on Saturday, with an official calling it a record high for the smog-choked mega city.
For days, the city of 14 million people has been enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.
The air quality index, which measures a range of pollutants, spiked at 1,067—well above the level of 300 considered ‘dangerous’.
“We have never reached a level of 1,000,” Jahangir Anwar, a senior environmental protection official in Lahore told AFP.
The level of deadly PM2.5 pollutants—fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health—peaked at 610—more than 40 times the limit of 15 in a 24-hour period considered healthy by the WHO.
Last month, authorities banned schoolchildren from outdoor exercise until January and adjusted school hours to prevent children from traveling when the pollution is most punishing.
Children are particularly vulnerable because they have less developed lungs and breathe more rapidly, taking in more air relative to their size than adults.
Tuk-tuks equipped with polluting two-stroke engines are banned, as are restaurants that barbecue without filters.
Government offices and private companies will have halve their staff work from home starting Monday.
Construction work has been halted and street and food vendors, who often cook over open fires, must close at 8 pm.
Pollution in excess of levels deemed safe by the WHO shortens the life expectancy of Lahore residents by an average of 7.5 years, according to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.
According to UNICEF, nearly 600 million children in South Asia are exposed to high levels of air pollution and half of childhood pneumonia deaths are associated with air pollution.