LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said Sunday that smog has been declared natural calamity in the province.

In a statement, he said a special monitoring cell has been established in Provincial Disaster Management Authority to monitor the situation of smog round the clock. The Chief Minister directed the concerned departments to remain vigilant and take action against vehicles, factories and brick kilns spreading pollution.

Smog has continued to engulf Lahore as the ranking of Air Quality Index (AQI) has reached 370 today (Sunday). Lahore an air quality ranking was well over the hazardous level of 300, according to IQAir, the technology company that operates the AirVisual monitoring platform.

It may be noted air pollution has worsened in Pakistan in recent years, as a mixture of low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burn off, and colder winter temperatures coalesce into stagnant clouds of smog. Lahore, a bustling megacity of more than 11 million people in Punjab province near the border with India, consistently ranks among the worst cities in the world for air pollution.