Intense seasonal smog has returned to South Asia, leaving residents of Pakistan and India's mega-cities struggling to breathe. Lahore's air quality was recently ranked the most polluted in the world.
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00:00A thick shroud of smog has fallen on Pakistan's megacity of Lahore, and it's not going anywhere.
00:07As in many of South Asia's packed metropolises, air pollution is a problem at the best of
00:11times, and it gets much, much worse here in winter, as cold air and the Himalayas lock
00:16in smoke, exhaust, and construction dust.
00:20Measurements show Lahore had the worst air quality anywhere on Earth Monday.
00:24But hazardous air pollution has been a problem for at least several days, and air quality
00:28is not expected to get better for some time.
00:31Schools have decided to adjust their schedules so that student pick-up and drop-off times
00:35avoid the worst of the smog.
00:37As for outdoor events, they're all cancelled, at least until the end of January.
00:41The air pollution is very bad in the morning, so the government has made sure that children
00:50come to school in the late hours so that the smog doesn't get worse.
00:57This is a good move by the government to make it easier for the children.
01:04But some parents doubt that even these measures will make much of a difference.
01:07The timing of the measures is the same, even at 8 or 8.30, even at 9, the smog is the same
01:12all day long.
01:13It's just a disturbance.
01:14Now we're on duty, we have to go to work at 7.30 or 8.30, we have to go to work at
01:207.30 or 8.30, how will we leave the children?
01:22You know the situation, you can't send them alone.
01:25The timing should be the same, 8.30 or 8.15, that's fine.
01:30The children come home at 12 or 1, and now they come home at 3.
01:343.30 or 3.15.
01:36The situation's not much better in neighbouring India.
01:39From Delhi to Mumbai, officials classified air quality as moderate to very poor.
01:44All the haze has sickened some residents.
01:48There's a lot of air pollution in Delhi.
01:50I can't breathe.
01:51I've been sick for the past four days because of the air pollution.
01:56It's so difficult to breathe, I'm coughing.
02:01To address the situation, several Indian states are putting controls or bans on fireworks
02:06and firecrackers during the upcoming Hindu Festival of Lights, Diwali.
02:10But while this may help, many of the root causes of the smog, including vehicle emissions,
02:16burning charcoal and wood for heat in the cold winter,
02:18and the practice of burning off fields after harvest, are still in place.
02:22So thick clouds of pollution will continue to hang over the region
02:25until the end of what some now call the region's fifth season.
02:29Kama Hsu and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.