Lahore shuts primary schools over dangerous smog

Pakistan's second-largest city, Lahore, will close primary schools for a week over record pollution, the authorities said on Nov 3, to avoid exposing millions of children to smog that is several times above levels deemed dangerous.

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For days, the city of 14 million people has been enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning, and winter cooling.

The air quality index, which measures a range of pollutants, exceeded 1,000 on Nov 2, well above the level of 300 considered "dangerous", according to data from IQAir. The Punjab government also recorded peaks of over 1,000 on Nov 3, which it considered "unprecedented".