Students in Punjab are awaiting the winter vacation that begin on December 20, 2024, as winter set in. Khalid Nazir Watoo, Secretary of Schools, Punjab, announced a 20-day holiday until January 10, 2025.
This announcement comes in the face of severe smog conditions in the province, which had earlier led to the closure of schools and a switch to online learning after they had suffered hazardous air quality-danger levels, especially in the world’s most polluted city, Lahore.
Health issues are raising fears among children, old age, and the community generally for the toxic smog generated from industrial emissions, crop burning, and vehicular pollution. Most schools have bound to open; nevertheless, parents and teachers have voiced their disturbances over future likely effects of smog on students’ health.
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In Lahore, visibility is still low and air quality dangerously poor. The authorities have advised the population to wear masks and minimize outdoor activities.
The winter break from school brings with it a much-needed hiatus from academic work and a little time off for students from the adverse effects of the prevailing environmental crisis. But above all, there arises a challenge for immediate solutions to be engineered in the fight against pollution affecting this thickly populated region.