LAHORE: Plummeting temperature and a spike in pollutants mainly ash and smoke from crop stubble burning in adjacent Indian Punjab fields worsened the smog in Lahore and several other cides in the Punjab on Wednesday.

A cloud of thick smog blanketed Lahore early in the morning and thickened in the evening, creating a health hazard especially for children, the elderly and those riding bicycles and motorcycles.

Scrambling to clamp down on local sources of pollutants, the Environment Protection Department revealed that crop stubble was being burnt even inareas around Lahore city.

The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) has reportedly detected around 1,000 fires in areas close to Lahore, an official said. Other officials revealed that they had received reports about crop stubble being set alight in fields near Hafizabad, Okara, Sheikhupura, Pakpattan and Gujranwala.

In view of the seriousness of the issue, the Home Department had banned stubble burning under Section 144, and an EPD official shared that they had registered 114 casesinthisregardandarrested41 farmers by Wednesday evening.

Sources said that Suparco`s latest satellite images had showed 34,535 crop stubble burning incidents inIndian Punjab and 4,702 fires in Pakistan`s side of the Punjab by October 31. Meteorologists explained that pollutants carried on soft wind from India were suspended in the air because of increased moisture in the atmosphere, caused by a decrease in the overall temperature.

Local sources of pollution, including emissions from steel mills and brick kilns, vehicular emissions, and dust due to the unrelenting construction of roads and tracks for the metro train were worsening the situation. They said that the smog would either be washed away by the rain or pushed out of the city by strong wind. At present, there is neither.

EPD officials said the department was working in close liaisonwith other government departments and agencies to control local sources of pollution. The department had sealed 170 steel mills all over the Punjab by Wednesday, including 130 mills in Lahore city which has at least 350 steel re-rolling mills along its north-eastern side alone.

The of ficials said that dust was rising from the site of the metro train between Chauburji and Ali Razabad, Lahore canal`s Dharampura and Mughalpura stretch where an underpass is being constructed, and the roads being dug to lay cables for the Safe City Project.

Contractors of the development projects have been told to sprinkle water on the earth and to cover the mounds of dirt with plastic sheets. The Safe City Project authorities, too, have been asked to get the dug up roads repaired without delay.

The brick kilns association has been told to ensure that its members stop using fossil fuels and other fuels contributing to pollution by Nov 15, or face action.

The police have been told to support the EPD in sealing the steel mills owned byinfluential people, many of whom burn tyres for cheap fuel.

Separately in Multan, five flights were cancelled as a thick fog blanketed Multan International Airport on Wednesday.

According to officials of the Civil Aviation Authority, three international flights Bahrain-Multan-Bahrain of Gulf Air, Jeddah-MultanJeddah of Saudi Airline and Dubai-Multan-Dubai of Emirates Airline were cancelled due to smog, while domestic flights of the PIA, including the Islamabad-Multan-Lahore and the Multan-Islamabad flights were cancelled.