Lahore: Lahore on Tuesday becomes the third most polluted city in the world because the increasing fog has claimed the capital of Pakistani culture, said air quality monitoring company said.
Bad air has sickened hundreds with breathing and other diseases.
Lahore was ranked third behind Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and Mongolia’s Capital Ulaanbaatar about the pollution index, according to the Swiss-based IQAIR air quality information platform.
Increasing air pollution and smog has forced authority to order the closure of some schools in Lahore, who used to be known as the city of gardens.
Authorities say they close several factories and some are fined because they do not use technology that helps in controlling pollution.
Doctors advise people to wear facial masks to avoid breathing-related diseases.
Rafeh Alam, an environmentalist who has campaigned to create awareness among people about the dangers of increasing pollution, said many people, including women and children, have been exposed to poisonous air, which causes several diseases.
He urged the government to take steps to reduce air pollution.
Adding vehicle and industrial pollution is a popular practice among poor Pakistani farmers burning the remnants of previous season plants before preparing land for the next planting.
The wind worsens pollution by spreading fog throughout the region.