Lahore's Air Quality Index (AQI) has surged to "unhealthy" levels, according to Punjab's environmental monitoring system, turning the basic act of breathing into a health risk. Children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions now face heightened danger every time they step outdoors. As is with every natural calamity, the lower-income families are hit the hardest. They are riddled with an inability to afford air purifiers, private healthcare or the option of staying safely indoors owing to the nature of their jobs. Their children miss school, workers carry on in polluted streets and households already stretched by hardship must now endure the added weight of toxic air.

Government authorities have now announced operations, issued advisories and deployed inspection teams for vehi

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