LAHORE: The smog crisis in Punjab has deteriorated as the toxic air spread to other cities in the province following Lahore\u2019s consistent position at the top of the global pollution charts. The air quality index (AQI) in the provincial capital reached 860 on IQAir\u2019s real-time list of most polluted cities today (Friday), which later dipped to 569 by 1pm but remained well within the hazardous zone. Meanwhile, Multan had the worst air quality at one point this morning with 1,635 AQI, a level extremely injurious to health.As per the Swiss air quality monitor, anything above the 300 mark on the AQI is considered \u201chazardous\u201d. As thick smog blanketed the southern city, visibility was badly affected, resulting in closure of M3 Motorway at the Rajana Interchange and M4 Motorway from Shorkot to Gojra. Despite efforts to bring down the pollution levels, the smog-laden air has moved to other cities, with Multan being worst-hit after Lahore, followed by Faisalabad, where the AQI was recorded at 356, causing issues like difficulty in breathing among citizens. DNA
\nThe environmental protection officials sealed multiple factories and mills contributing to the air pollution during ongoing anti-smog operations in Faisalabad, while slapping fines and registering a case against one of the factory owners.
\nMoreover, an eatery was also sealed and two individuals were arrested for the violation of smog-prevention guidelines. The M2 Motorway was closed for traffic from Lahore to Sheikhupura, the M3 Motorway from Lahore to Jaranwala and Faizpur to Durkhana, Motorway M4 from Gojra to Abdul Hakeem.
\nThe situation was similar in Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Khanewal and surrounding areas as visibility dropped to extremely low, causing traffic disruptions. A road accident was also reported near Hiran Minar, where five vehicles collided with each other due to low visibility.
\nAt least five people were injured, with three admitted at Sheikhupura District Headquarters Hospital in unstable condition. Motorway police advised the citizens to avoid traveling unnecessarily and prefer driving during the day-time only with headlights on.
\nLHC orders markets closure by 8pmIn a related development, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the closure of markets by 8pm and the complete suspension of trade activities on Sunday in the provincial capital. The directives came during the hearing of miscellaneous pleas against the absence of adequate measures to fight smog.
\nMoreover, the court ordered all private offices to adopt work from home (WFH) policy for two days and directed authorities to crackdown against smoke-producing vehicles. It also directed the Dolphin Police force to jointly work with Lahore Police in this regard. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE: The smog crisis in Punjab has deteriorated as the toxic air spread to other cities in the province following Lahore\u2019s consistent position at the top of the global pollution charts. The air quality index (AQI) in the provincial capital reached 860 on IQAir\u2019s real-time list of most polluted cities today (Friday), which later dipped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-442459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n