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"It's very worrisome," the father of a 4-year-old boy admits. "I knew that the smog can be bad for health — but I didn't know it would be so bad that my son would be hospitalised." Teachers also worry for the children.
The operation's five squads are the latest effort by authorities in Lahore, near the border with India, to curb an annual pollution spike that has left more than 11 million residents gasping for air.
The government of Pakistan’s Punjab province has ordered closure of all public and private educational institutions including colleges and schools and private offices in Lahore city for three days a week (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) due to severe smog.
Punjab government also ordered the closure of private offices three days a week across the provincial capital. The head of the province's teachers' association warned cutting school days was "not a viable solution."
"I get headaches on bad days, and a sore throat, but that's worth it to watch the World Cup in person," Sajid Shah added. "Anyway, what can we do?"
New Delhi again topped a real-time list of the world's most polluted cities compiled by Swiss group IQAir, which put the Indian capital's AQI at 640 in the "hazardous" category on Friday, followed by 335 in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
The Indian capital is regularly ranked as one of the most polluted on the planet, with its annual smog blamed for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year.
"The government has decided to close down markets for four days from 9 to 12 November in the major cities of Punjab because of smog on the advisory of the health department," said Amir Mir, the information minister for Punjab.
“Wearing of marks and staying at home are the two easiest solutions to avoid getting rushed to hospitals with respiratory-related diseases, infections in eyes and skin diseases,” said doctor Salman Kazmi.
Around half of childhood pneumonia deaths are associated with air pollution, according to Unicef. The provincial government extended school holidays, clipped classroom hours and mandated facemasks in a bid to shield children.