"The spread of conjunctivitis/pink eye disease due to bacterial or viral infection, smoke, dust or chemical exposure is posing a serious and imminent threat to public health," the Punjab government said.
Pakistan's most-populous province of Punjab has imposed a ban on almost all open-air activities and ordered stores, markets and malls in some areas to close early as high levels of air pollution cause an unprecedented rise in smog-driven illnesses.
Earlier this month, Lahore, which regularly ranks among the world's most polluted cities, had an air pollution index score of 1,900 in some places, according to Swiss group IQAir. Although the level is now lower, its index score of more than 600 on Monday still means that residents are breathing highly toxic air.
Air pollution rises each winter in several regions of South Asia as cold air traps dust, factory and vehicle emissions and smoke from stubble burning on farms.
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