In view of the increasing smog, Pakistan's Punjab province declared a health emergency on Friday, November 15.
As per Reuters, the province banned construction, extended school closures for another week and switched universities to online classes.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Muslims gathered at over 600 government-run mosques in the province for "Namaz-e-Istisqa" to pray for rain and forgiveness.
Every winter, the province and northern states experience smog caused by a combination of dropping temperatures, smoke, dust, vehicle emissions, low wind speeds and the burning of crop stubble.
Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, during a press conference announcing measures to combat smog, stated that the government had ordered the closure of construction activities, brick kilns, and furnace-based plants in Lahore and Multan.
She further stated that there would be a complete three-day lockdown from next Friday if the situation does not improve.
On the other hand, Delhi and its surrounding areas are also experiencing hazardous pollution levels that pose a serious threat to public health.
On Thursday, the amount of fine particulate matter in the air was more than 50 times higher than the safe limit which is set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
A study published in The Lancet in July revealed that 7.2% of daily deaths in the city could be linked to fine particulate pollution.
