Parks and museums closed for 10 days in eastern Pakistan due to smog

People play football in Lahore (KM Chaudary/AP)

Authorities in eastern Pakistan have closed public parks, zoos, museums, historical buildings and playgrounds for 10 days as a record-breaking “smog wave” choked 18 districts of Punjab province, leaving tens of thousands of people ill.

Lahore residents went about their lives in a twilight gloom that lingered over the city for hours, reducing visibility to around 100 metres.