Pakistan has declared a health emergency as Lahore's air quality hits alarming levels, affecting millions with respiratory issues. Authorities have implemented urgent measures, including school closures,

The crisis has prompted a flurry of responses from local authorities, as the country grapples with its most severe air pollution event in years. According to several Pakistani media reports the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority had declared smog a “calamity” and instituted emergency measures.

Pakistan ’s smog situation has gone from bad to worse as air pollution rose to a record in Lahore. Sensors tracked by the Swiss monitor IQAir recorded an air quality index of 1,300 in the country’s second-largest city at 5 p.m. local time, the highest this year and well beyond a level of 50 that is deemed safe.

With smog intensity escalating in Lahore at the end of October, affecting its 13 million residents, the Punjab government imposed a “green lockdown” and set up a “smog war room.”

Lahore recorded the worst case of air pollution in the world, with the AQI nearing 1600 on Friday. Pakistan Air pollution: As several states in northern India continue to battle worsening air pollution,