In Pakistan's smog-affected Punjab province, a prayer for rain and forgiveness

Pakistan's Punjab province has been hit by a massive smog, which has led authorities to ban construction, shut down schools and move universities to the online mode of learning. On Friday (Nov 15), the province extended school closures in smog-hit major cities by a week.

"Schools will remain closed for another week due to the hazardous air quality. Institutes including universities would switch to online classes to ensure the safety of students," Marriyum Aurangzeb, Punjab's environment minister, told a news conference.

Authorities also imposed a lockdownin the cities of Multan and Lahore.

Amid the smog crisis, a prayer for rain and forgiveness

Smog has caused mayhem in Punjab for weeks,sickening nearly 2 million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze.

Amid the crisis,hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the province prayed for rain and forgiveness, a report by the news agency Reuters on Friday said.

Worshippers gathered at over 600 government-run mosques in Punjab province to offer "Namaz-e-Istisqa," a voluntary prayer for rain, in response to the provincial Religious Affairs Department's call to combat the severe smog situation.

"Today, prayers for supplication were offered not only at Lahore's Badshahi Mosque but acrossPakistan. Insha Allah, these prayers will be heard by Allah, and He will alter the circumstances,"ImamOfMughalEra Badshahi Mosque Lahore Abdul Khabir Azad told Reuters.

"The purpose of this prayer was to seek Allah's blessings to remove the hazardous smog and its harmful effects on human life, thereby improving the weather and protecting people from diseases," Azad added.

Rain is predicted in the coming days

Pakistan’s National Weather Centre said rain and wind were forecast for the coming days, helping smoggy conditions to subside and air quality to improve in parts of Punjab.

Also watch | Pakistan continues to grapple with smog

A report by the province's Environment Protection and Climate Change Department said that the total air quality index in Lahore on Friday was 860. As per the department,an air quality index from 401 to 500 or above is extremely unhealthy.

In the early days of this month, the Air Quality Index has crossed the level of 2,000 twice in Lahore and Multan, a report by The International News said.

(With inputs from agencies)