LAHORE, Pakistan – Dangerously poor air quality forced Pakistani authorities in the cultural capital of Lahore on Monday to close primary schools for a week, government officials said, after the air quality index hit a record high for the weekend.

The measures in Lahore were part of a larger effort to protect children from respiratory and other diseases in the city of 14 million people. The government said everyone in Lahore had to wear a mask.

Fifty percent of employees must also work from home as part of an “ecological lockdown” in the city, the government said, adding that grilling food without filters has been banned and motorized rickshaws have been restricted. Wedding halls must close at 10pm and artificial rain is likely to be used to combat pollution.

The air quality index in Lahore surpassed 1,000 over the weekend, a record in Pakistan.

Toxic gray smog has sickened tens of thousands of people, mainly children and the elderly, since last month, when air quality began to worsen in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, bordering India.

The government has also banned construction work in certain areas and fined owners of vehicles that emit smoke. Schools will remain closed for a week due to pollution, according to a government notification.

The concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particles, in the air was approaching 450, considered dangerous, the Punjab Environmental Protection Department said.

Lahore was once known as a city of gardens, which were omnipresent during the Mughal era from the 16th to the 19th century. But rapid urbanization and increasing population growth have left little room for greenery.