Over 250 children have died of pneumonia in Pakistan's Punjab province since the beginning of this year, the provincial health department said in a statement on Sunday.
Around 870 cases have been reported in the province in the last 24 hours, the statement said, adding that about 177 patients were diagnosed in Punjab's provincial capital Lahore.
The health department attributed the rapid increase in cases and deaths to environmental pollution caused by smog during the ongoing winter season.
The health authorities said that they are working to address the surge in pneumonia cases.
The health department called for an urgent need for public awareness and preventive measures to curb the spread of the infection.
Earlier, Javed Akram, the caretaker health minister of the province, told media that apart from the chilly weather, the major causes of pneumonia and deaths among kids include low rate of mother feeding and vaccination.
He said that scores of children die of the disease during the winter season each year, but this year, a ten percent surge in the mortality rate has been witnessed due to worsening air quality.
The minister added that the situation will improve when the intensity of the winter season subsides in the coming months.
xinhua
