LAHORE: As Lahore once again chokes under a thick blanket of toxic smog, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) touching 985 in several areas this week, many are questioning why the Punjab government has not ordered school closures or shifted to online classes, as it did last year when the AQI crossed 1,000.
Last year, when air pollution reached similar levels, the government imposed emergency restrictions — closing schools, shifting classes online, and limiting outdoor activities. This year, however, the provincial administration has opted for a different strategy.
Instead of shutting down schools, officials have adjusted school timings, urging institutions to start later in the morning to avoid peak smog hours. Authorities cite the introduction of new “smog guns” — high-pressure mist sprayers designed to suppress dust and particulate matter — as part of the government’s proactive response.
While the initiative is commendable in theory, it has failed to produce visible results so far. Lahore’s skies remain shrouded in brown haze, and air quality continues to fall into the hazardous category.
Health experts and parents are alarmed. Prolonged exposure to poor air quality poses serious risks for children, who are more vulnerable because they breathe faster and spend time outdoors during arrival, recess, and departure hours.
Doctors warn that high levels of PM2.5 — the fine particulate matter responsible for smog — can lead to respiratory infections, eye irritation, reduced lung function, and long-term cardiovascular issues in children.
“The AQI is well above safe limits. Keeping schools open in such conditions is effectively exposing students to poison in the air,” said a Lahore-based pulmonologist.
Public health advocates argue that online learning, though not ideal, would at least limit children’s direct exposure during the worst days of the smog crisis.
Environmental experts say that vehicular emissions remain one of the biggest contributors to Lahore’s smog. Thousands of cars, buses, motorcycles, and rickshaws — many running on outdated engines — emit pollutants that combine with industrial smoke, dust, and crop residue burning to form the deadly haze.
“Until we control vehicular emissions and upgrade our public transport systems, no amount of smog guns or artificial rain will solve this,” an environmental researcher at Punjab University revealed.
Despite acknowledging that air pollution levels are nearing last year’s emergency threshold, the government insists conditions are “manageable.” Officials argue that closing schools disrupts education and that mitigation efforts are ongoing.
Yet, as AQI readings continue to hover near the 1,000 mark and Lahore’s air turns unbreathable, many parents and doctors are asking what has truly changed this year — other than the government’s decision not to act.
