Pakistan Shuts Primary Schools for a Week in Lahore Due to Dangerous Air Quality

A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Pakistan Shuts Primary Schools for a Week in Lahore Due to Dangerous Air Quality

A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)

Dangerously poor air quality on Monday forced Pakistani authorities in the cultural capital of Lahore to close primary schools for a week, government officials said, after the air-quality index hit a record high over the weekend.

The measures in Lahore were part of a larger effort to protect children from respiratory-related and other diseases in the city of 14 million people. The government said everyone in Lahore was required to wear a face mask.

Fifty percent of employees must also work from home as part of a “green lockdown” in the city, the government said, adding that barbecuing food without filters was banned and motorized rickshaws restricted. Wedding halls must close at 10 p.m. and artificial rain is likely to be used to combat the pollution.

The air-quality index in Lahore exceeded 1,000 over the weekend, a record high in Pakistan.

Toxic gray smog has sickened tens of thousands of people, mainly children and elderly people, since last month when the air quality started worsening in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province bordering India.

The government has also banned construction work in certain areas and fined owners of smoke-emitting vehicles. Schools will remain closed for a week because of the pollution, according to a government notification.

The concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particulate matter, in the air approached 450, considered hazardous, the Punjab Environment Protection Department said.

Lahore was once known as a city of gardens, which were ubiquitous during the Mughal era from the 16th to 19th centuries. But rapid urbanization and surging population growth have left little room for greenery.



China Space Station Crew Returns to Earth after 6 Months in Space

 A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)
A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)
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China Space Station Crew Returns to Earth after 6 Months in Space

 A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)
A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after a six-month stay on the Tiangong space station, part of China’s effort to be a global leader in space exploration.

A parachute slowed their capsule's nighttime descent to a remote landing area in China's Inner Mongolia region. The crew emerged after touching down at 1:24 a.m. A Chinese national flag stuck in the ground near the capsule flapped in the wind.

In recent years, the country's space program has brought back rocks from the moon and landed a rover on Mars. It aims to put a person on the moon by 2030, which would make China the second nation after the United States to do so.

The space station astronauts returned after welcoming a replacement three-person crew last week for the latest six-month mission. The new team of one woman and two men will conduct experiments, carry out spacewalks and install equipment to protect the station from space debris.

A space agency official said in April that Tiangong had maneuvered several times to avoid debris and had partially lost power when the solar wing's power cables were hit by debris, according to a report from the official Xinhua News Agency.

China is among the countries that have created space debris, including the reported break-up of a rocket stage in August during the launch of the first 18 satellites for a global internet service similar to Starlink, the still-growing constellation of satellites operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Tiangong, which means Heavenly Palace, was completed two years ago and orbits the earth.

Only Chinese astronauts have gone to the space station so far, but a space agency spokesperson said last week that China is in discussions to select and train astronauts from other nations to join the missions, Xinhua reported.

Astronauts from several nations have traveled to the International Space Station, but China is blocked from that program mainly because of US concerns over the military's involvement in China's space program.

China laid out an ambitious plan last month to become a leader in space science research by 2050 in conjunction with its advances in space exploration.