Record-high air pollution in Pakistan’s Punjab province prompted authorities to keep government employees at home and close additional schools, as doctors reported an increase in people seeking treatment for smog-related ailments.

Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, was ranked as the world’s most polluted city last week, with a record-high pollution reading of 1,900 near the Pakistan-India border. Now, Pakistan’s Punjab gov

Pakistan's second city of Lahore will close primary schools for a week over record pollution, government authorities said Sunday, to avoid exposing millions of children to smog several times above levels deemed dangerous.

The authorities in Lahore, home to 13 million people and the country’s second-biggest city, have told half the work force to stay home.

In the Punjab region of Pakistan, record-high air pollution levels triggered hospitalizations and school closures, as cities remain shrouded in a thick, toxic smog.