Although outdoor activities, including outdoor sporting events, exhibitions and festivals, as well as outdoor dining in restaurants, have been banned, “unavoidable religious rites” are exempt from this directive, says the order.

Some outlets like pharmacies, oil depots, dairies and fruit and vegetable shops have also been exempted from the requirement to close at 8 p.m. local time.

Air quality in Lahore remained hazardous on Monday, with an index above 600, according to IQAir, but this index was significantly lower than the 1,900 it touched in some places earlier this month.

A score of 0 to 50 is considered “good”.

Several parts of South Asia are engulfed in toxic haze each winter as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from farm fires.

Punjab has blamed its particularly toxic air this year on pollution from India, where northern regions also struggle with hazardous air, and said it would raise the issue with the neighboring country through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

India’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Delhi government to decide by November 25 whether to impose a “perpetual ban” on firecrackers, legal news portal Bar and Bench reported.

Firecrackers set off by Diwali revelers, the Hindu festival of lights celebrated on October 31 despite a ban, have worsened the region’s pollution problem.