ISLAMABAD – More than 900 people have been admitted to hospital in a single day in the Pakistani megacity of Lahore due to air pollution, the local government said.

       Children and elderly people were among those who had to urgently see a doctor for respiratory conditions and throat infections, senior provincial minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said at a press conference on Nov 6.

       Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab, of which Lahore is the capital, registers hazardous air pollution during the winter season, when slower wind currents are compounded by smoke from field clearing and urban emissions.

       The Swiss monitor IQAir on Nov 7 placed Lahore first among the world’s most polluted cities with an air quality index of 710, which is double the level seen in New Delhi and compared to safe levels of up to 50.

       The minister said the index touched 1,100 earlier in the week, prompting authorities to close schools, enforcing mask wearing and requesting that offices run at a reduced capacity, with half of the staff working from home.

       The restriction will be in place for the coming ten days, after which the government will reassess the situation. BLOOMBERG