As Pakistan chokes on smog, is the government doing enough?

Authorities in the worst-hit Punjab province launch mobile clinics and shut schools amid record pollution levels.

Islamabad, Pakistan – With a staggering 1.8 million people requiring medical treatment in Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab and 11 million children facing health risks, according to the United Nations, provincial authorities are scrambling to combat hazardous smog that has driven air pollution to unprecedented levels.

Lahore, the provincial capital of 14 million residents, was the world’s most polluted city on Thursday with an air quality index (AQI) reading surpassing 1,400, according to IQAir, a Swiss climate monitoring group.

The city frequently makes it to the list, but pollution levels this month have been unprecedented, touching 1,900 in some places earlier this month. The AQI measures the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the atmosphere. Any reading above 300 is considered hazardous by the World Health Organization.

In order to combat such alarming levels of pollution, authorities in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest and most populous province, have launched nearly 200 mobile clinics and added more beds in hospitals. Earlier, they shut schools until November 17, ordered early market closures, and imposed other restrictions, including shutting down brick kilns and banning outdoor events.

For Lahore resident Shoaib Naveed, the past few days have been nothing but “dreadful”, impacting every aspect of his life.