weatherApplies to: PunjabNews report
Punjab schools ordered to check AQI, limit outdoor activity and have students wear masks under the Pre-Smog Action Plan 2026
- Effective
- Wednesday, 19 August 2026
- Source
- Dawn
- Published
- 19 August 2026
The Punjab School Education Department has directed schools to implement the Pre-Smog Action Plan 2026, prepared under the Punjab Environmental Protection Agency ahead of the smog season proper. Schools must check the Air Quality Index before allowing outdoor workouts, exercise or sports, restrict students from playing outdoors when air quality is poor, avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure or visits to areas with unhealthy AQI, and keep doors and windows closed to reduce intake of polluted air; students have been directed to wear face masks during school hours. The department has not published numerical AQI thresholds, and no smog school-closure order or revised smog timings had been notified for the 2026 season at the time of writing.