Pakistan's second-largest city, Lahore ranked as the world’s most polluted city on a real-time pollution tracking list on Sunday, November 3.
As per Reuters, this comes after the city recorded an extremely high pollution reading of 1900 near the Pakistan-India border.
Shortly after the announcement, the government has taken significant emergency actions, including mandating work-from-home arrangements and closing primary schools for a week as the city is blanketed by a thick layer of smog.
Senior Minister of Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb gave brief instructions to citizens during a press conference to tackle the challenging situation and urged parents to make sure that their children wear masks.
She also adviced citizens to stay indoors, keep doors and windows shut, and avoid unnecessary travel.
Smog crisis intensifies to severe levels in Lahore upon the arrival of winter season, similar to India’s capital Delhi.
Aurangzeb further said that 50% of employees would work from home in order to reduce vehicle pollution.
She also emphasised the need for negotiations between India and Pakistan saying, “This cannot be solved without talks with and the provincial government would initiate talks with its bigger neighbour through Pakistan's foreign ministry.”
The further measures include a ban on three-wheelers or rickshaws and also paused construction in some areas to reduce the pollution levels.
