Danger Dust

A Pakistani province declared a health emergency Friday due to smog and imposed a shutdown in two major cities.

Smog has choked Punjab for weeks, sickening nearly 2 million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze.

Time off for medical staff is cancelled, all education institutions are shut until further notice, restaurants are closing at 4 p.n. while takeaway is available up until 8 p.m. Authorities are imposing a lockdown in the cities of Multan and Lahore and halting construction work in those two places.

"Smog is currently a national disaster," Aurangzeb said. "It will not all be over in a month or a year. We will evaluate the situation after three days and then announce a further strategy."

Average air quality index readings in parts of Lahore, a city of 11 million, exceeded 600 on Friday. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous to health.