Primary Schools Have Been Shut Down In Punjab For 1 Week: Why?
One of the latest Updates for all the residents of Punjab is that the Government has decided to shut down all the Primary Schools in Punjab for 1 week and the reason behind this decision is the increasing Pollution and smog. This decision is for all the primary schools of Lahore which is the second largest city in Pakistan by the Government authorities and was announced on Sunday in a conference.
The primary motivation is to prevent millions of youngsters from being exposed to pollution levels that are many times higher than those considered hazardous.
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Pollution In Air Will Be Dangerous For Next 6 Days
Smog, a mixture of fog and pollution brought on by low-grade diesel emissions, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning, and winter cooling, has engulfed the 14 million-person city for days. According to IQAir statistics, the air quality index, which gauges a variety of contaminants, surpassed 1,000 on Saturday, much over the 300 thresholds deemed “dangerous.”
Wind patterns are expected to stay the same for the next six days, according to the weather forecast. As a result, we are closing all of Lahore’s public and private elementary schools for a week,” senior environmental protection official Jahangir Anwar told AFP.
Primary Schools To Be Shutdown From Mon To Saturday
According to a local government resolution obtained by AFP, “all the classes” for kids under the age of ten “public, private & special education… shall remain closed for one week” from Monday through Saturday.
To decide whether to prolong the school closure, the decision also said that the situation would be reevaluated on Saturday.
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Children are seriously harmed by this smog. Masks ought to be required in classrooms. At a press conference on Sunday, Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb stated, “We are monitoring the health of the children in senior classes.”
Smog Counter Formed In Hospitals
According to Maryam Aurangzeb, a counter has been established in the Punjab Hospitals for Smog-affected people so that first aid will be given to them. The WHO states that long-term exposure to poisonous air can cause respiratory disorders, heart disease, strokes, and lung cancer, among other devastating health effects.
Protecting Our Most Vulnerable: Safeguarding Children’s Well-being
Children are more at risk because their lungs are not as developed as those of adults, and they breathe more quickly, absorbing more air in proportion to their body size.
Authorities last month changed school hours to keep kids from traveling during the worst times of the pollution and prohibited outdoor exercise for students until January. The University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute estimates that pollution levels beyond WHO-recommended acceptable limits reduce Lahore citizens’ life expectancy by an average of 7.5 years.
Half Of The Office Employees To Work From Home By Monday
More than 40 times the World Health Organization’s recommended threshold for lethal PM2.5 pollutants—fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most harm to health—was reached on Saturday. On Sunday morning, PM2.5 readings were higher than that and then somewhat lower.
Restaurants that grill without filters are prohibited, as are tuk-tuks with two-stroke engines that emit pollutants. Beginning Monday, half of the employees in both government and private organizations will work from home.
Conclusion
The temporary closure of primary schools in Punjab reflects the government’s urgent response to the severe smog and pollution affecting Lahore. By prioritizing children’s health and safety, the authorities aim to reduce their exposure to harmful air quality. The situation will be reviewed after one week, and additional protective measures, such as work-from-home policies and healthcare support, have been implemented to safeguard public health during this period of dangerous pollution.