{"id":82241,"date":"2023-11-10T15:14:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T15:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estaql.com\/pakistan-and-india-shrouded-in-smog-as-schools-and-markets-shut-in-parts-of-south-asia-world-news\/"},"modified":"2023-11-10T15:14:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T15:14:28","slug":"pakistan-and-india-shrouded-in-smog-as-schools-and-markets-shut-in-parts-of-south-asia-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/pakistan-and-india-shrouded-in-smog-as-schools-and-markets-shut-in-parts-of-south-asia-world-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan and India shrouded in smog as schools and markets shut in parts of South Asia | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Pakistan and India shrouded in smog as schools and markets shut in parts of South Asia | World News<\/h2>\n

Pakistan and India shrouded in smog as schools and markets shut in parts of South Asia | World News<\/p>\n

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Pollution-fuelled smog has shrouded major cities across South Asia this week, with businesses and schools forced to close in some areas.<\/p>\n

As of midday on Friday, four of the top five cities with the worst air quality in the world were in South Asia, with the only outlier in nearby Indonesia.<\/p>\n

Pakistan<\/strong>, India, Nepal and Bangladesh have all been blighted by toxic air, which appears to be mostly caused by a combination of pollution and relatively cooler temperatures.<\/p>\n

The Air Quality Index (AQI) – a measure developed by government agencies – puts Kolkata in India as the most polluted city in the world, followed by the country’s capital, New Delhi, in second.<\/p>\n

Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, ranked as the third most polluted, while Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, was fourth and Nepalese capital Kathmandu was fifth.<\/p>\n

The smog has been keenly felt in recent days in Lahore, Pakistan, which had an AQI of 432 on Wednesday, before dropping to 103 on Friday.<\/p>\n

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\n A cyclist wearing a mask in Lahore. Pic: AP
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Anything over 301 is considered hazardous – the most serious ranking – while a score above 101 is a warning for sensitive groups, such as children, the elderly, those with respiratory conditions and pregnant women.<\/p>\n

As a result, schools and markets have been closed in the city of more than 11 million people and the wider Punjab region – home to 110 million in total – from Thursday to Sunday.<\/p>\n

Offices, restaurants and businesses, aside from priority services like hospitals and courts, have all shut in a bid to limit movement outside, as ordered in a directive from the provincial government.<\/p>\n

But it hasn’t stopped tens of thousands from falling sick, according to officials, as doctors advise the population to wear face masks and stay at home.<\/p>\n

Many have reported coughing and breathing problems in Lahore, which was once known as the city of gardens in the 19th century.<\/p>\n

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\n Image:<\/span>
\n People and vehicles are seen on a road amid the morning smog in New Delhi
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\n A hazy view of the Akshardham temple in New Delhi this week. Pic: AP
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Experts say the burning of crop residue at the start of the winter wheat-planting season is a key cause of the pollution.<\/p>\n

More generally, growing industrialisation in South Asia in recent decades has fuelled a rise in pollutants emanating from factories and vehicles in densely populated areas.<\/p>\n

The problem becomes more severe in cooler months, as a temperature inversion prevents a layer of warm air from rising and traps pollutants closer to the ground.<\/p>\n

Smog at the World Cup<\/strong><\/p>\n

In neighbouring India, which is hosting the cricket World Cup, authorities in New Delhi announced they would restrict the use of vehicles for a week<\/strong> from Monday as air quality remained dangerously unsafe despite mitigation efforts.<\/p>\n

Cricket players have chosen to remain indoors at times in New Delhi, with Bangladesh’s team cancelling a training session earlier this week and Sri Lanka’s squad wearing masks.<\/p>\n

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\n Image:<\/span>
\n The conditions at the ICC Cricket World Cup as Bangladesh took on Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi
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\n Smog covers Kathmandu valley
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Primary schools were also shut in the capital until Friday.<\/p>\n

Overnight rain brought some relief on Friday morning, while air in the financial capital of Mumbai also improved due to showers in nearby coastal areas.<\/p>\n

Read more:
‘Near certainty’ 2023 will be Earth’s hottest year on record
Major fossil fuel producing countries ‘risk blowing climate targets’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scientists are considering seeding clouds in New Delhi – a process that involves spreading substances that can encourage rain – to trigger heavy showers.<\/p>\n

Friday’s rain comes two days before the Diwali festival, when many defy a ban on firecrackers, causing a spike in air pollution.<\/p>\n

In Nepal, Kathmandu has an AQI of 128, while Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, ranks at 156 – considered “unhealthy” on the index.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organisation has repeatedly found air pollution to be the leading risk factor for death and disability in Nepal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Pakistan and India shrouded in smog as schools and markets shut in parts of South Asia | World News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pakistan and India shrouded in smog as schools and markets shut in parts of South Asia | World News Pakistan and India shrouded in smog as schools and markets shut in parts of South Asia | World News Pollution-fuelled smog has shrouded major cities across South Asia this week, with businesses and schools forced to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-estaql"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}