The Punjab government has decided to observe a four-day holiday in the province as it battles a deadly wave of smog, caretaker provincial chief minister Mohsin Naqvi said Tuesday.
In a press conference, the interim provincial chief said the holidays will be observed from Thursday (Iqbal Day — a national holiday) till Sunday, hoping that it would help curb smog.
Naqvi said schools are already closed on Saturdays and Sundays, but if a school isn’t closed this Saturday, then they will be asked to remain shut.
The provincial authorities had mulled last month to impose an additional weekly off, but as the situation improved, they decided against it, saying that they would keep monitoring the situation.
IQ Air showed that the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the provincial capital Lahore has spiked to 374, while Multan stood at 442. Pindi Bhattian’s AQI was at 257 and Rawalpindi 175.
An AQI of 101 to 15
