ISLAMABAD: Air quality improved in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Tuesday, prompting authorities in the worst-affected Lahore and Multan cities to reopen schools from Wednesday after over ten days of being closed due to record-high pollution levels.

Lahore’s air quality index (AQI) fell to 158 late on Tuesday, which Swedish group IQAir categorizes as unhealthy, after crossing 2,000 in some locations last week.

On Monday, the Punjab government had said schools would reopen across Punjab province, except for in the Lahore and Multan divisions.

“The ambient air quality has improved in Punjab, due to rain in upper parts of Punjab, change in wind direction and speed,” a notification said.

“Therefore, all the educational institutions in the whole province, including Lahore and Multan Division, shall be opened w.e.f. 20-11-2024 (Wednesday).”

The notification said school opening timings could not be before 845am, as smog is thickest in the early morning hours, and all students and staff had to wear face masks.

“There shall be a complete ban on outdoor sports and outdoor co-curricular activities till further orders,” the notification added. “All educational institutions shall introduce class wise school closing timing to avoid traffic congestions.”

Record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, junior and high school closures and stay-at-home orders in several districts of Punjab, including the provincial capital of Lahore, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.

Schools and government offices were closed earlier this month in many districts of Punjab, with the closures affecting the education of more than 20 million students, according to associations representing private and government schools.

Authorities in 18 districts of Punjab also closed all public parks, zoos and museums, historical places, and playgrounds for ten days last week. 

A court in Lahore ordered the government to shut all markets after 8pm, while authorities have already banned barbecuing food without filters and ordered wedding halls to close by 10pm.

Last week, the UN children’s agency said the health of 11 million children in Punjab province was in danger because of air pollution.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday surged past 96,000 points to hit a record high in intraday trading, with analysts attributing the rally to a current account surplus in October due to higher remittances, exports and foreign direct investment.

The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed to a record 935.66 points or 0.98 percent to stand at 95,931.33 from the previous close of 94,995.67 points. It touched the 96,036.48 mark for the first time at 2:44pm PST. 

Ahsan Mehanti at the Arif Habib Corporation told Arab News potential investors had weighed surging foreign reserves as well as government decisions over reforms for loss-making state-owned enterprises, independent power producers and energy pricing.

“Stocks bullish on reports of current account surplus of $349 million in Oct. 2024 on higher remittances, exports and FDI rising by 32pc to $904m for Jul-Oct. 2024,” he said. “The next triggers could be easing political noise amid protest calls by opposition.”

Pakistan’s external current account recorded a surplus of $349 million in October 2024, marking the third consecutive month of surplus and the highest in this period. The current account reflects a nation’s transactions with the world, encompassing net trade in goods and services, net earnings on cross-border investments and net transfer payments. 

A surplus indicates that a country is exporting more than it is importing, thereby strengthening its foreign exchange reserves.

A bullish trend has been observed at the stock market since Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 250 basis points, bringing it to 15 percent earlier this month. It’s economic indicators have also steadily improved since securing a 37-month, $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.

Before this, the country went through a prolonged economic crisis that drained its foreign exchange reserves and saw its currency weaken amid double-digit inflation.

Last year, Pakistan narrowly avoided a sovereign default by clinching a last-gasp $3 billion IMF bailout deal.