Smog improves Pakistan reopens Punjab schools

AFP :

Punjab, home to more than half of Pakistan’s 240 million people, closed schools in its major cities on November 6 after dense smog hit “hazardous” levels, a situation described by the province’s environment minister as a “national disaster.”
But Punjab’s environmental agency said late Tuesday that “the ambient air quality had improved in Punjab” due to rain in the north, as well as change in wind direction and speed.
“Therefore, all the educational institutions in the whole province, including Lahore and Multan Division, shall be opened” beginning Wednesday, it announced.
By morning, smog still shrouded the Punjab capital of Lahore as commuters headed to work, while road tractors continued belching wafts of dark smoke.
However the Air Quality Index for Lahore was 150, reflecting a massive improvement from two week ago when pollution in the city climbed to a record-high AQI value of 1,100.
Parent Muhammad Waheed, 48, said his children were “happy when the announcement was made about schools reopening.”
“The children were getting bored at home,” the daily wage worker told AFP. “Thank God, they’ll be going back to school.”