Pakistan’s second city of Lahore will close primary schools for a week over record pollution, government authorities said on Sunday, to avoid exposing millions of children to smog several times above levels deemed dangerous.

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, exceeded 1 000 on Saturday – well above the level of 300 considered “dangerous” –according to data from IQAir.

The Punjab government also recorded peaks of over 1 000 on Sunday, which it considered “unprecedented”.

“Weather forecast for the next six days shows that wind patterns will remain the same. Therefore, we are closing all government and private primary schools in Lahore for a week,” Jahangir Anwar, a senior environmental protection official in Lahore said.

“All the classes” for children up to the age of 10, “public, private and special education... shall remain closed for one week” from Monday until Saturday, read a local government’s statement.

It said that the situation will be assessed again next Saturday to determine whether to extend the school closure.

“This smog is very harmful for children. Masks should be mandatory in schools. We are keeping an eye on the health of children in senior classes,” Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday. Smog counters have been established in hospitals, she added.

Breathing the toxic air has catastrophic health consequences, with the WHO saying strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases can be triggered by exposure.

On Saturday, the concentration of deadly PM2.5 pollutants – fine particulate matter in the air that causes most damage to health – was more than 40 times the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organisation. PM2.5 levels on Sunday morning exceeded that before decreasing slightly.

Last week, the provincial environmental protection agency announced new restrictions in four “hot spots” in the city.

Tuk-tuks equipped with polluting two-stroke engines are banned, as are restaurants that barbecue without filters.

Government offices and private companies will have half their staff work from home starting on Monday.

Children are particularly vulnerable because they have less developed lungs and breathe more rapidly, taking in more air relative to their size than adults.

Last month, authorities banned schoolchildren from outdoor exercise until January and adjusted school hours to prevent children from travelling when the pollution is most punishing.

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.

Cape Times