Lahore AQI 458: World’s Most Polluted City as Smog WorsensPakistan

The pollution was not limited to Lahore. Multan recorded an even higher AQI of 719, while Kahna Nau reached 655 and Kasur 462, according to the Punjab air quality index. Within Lahore itself, monitors reported severe readings across several neighbourhoods, including the CERP Office at 611, Barki Road Paragon at 609 and Allama Iqbal Town at 583. The Punjab index showed Lahore at 430 at 7am, around 70 points higher than the previous day.

Readings vary between monitoring networks because they use different stations and methods, but every measure pointed in the same direction. Daily Pakistan reported Lahore’s average smog level at 338, with readings of 508 near FC College, 548 in Paragon Society and 414 in Model Town. On the IQAir scale, any reading above 300 is classed as hazardous.

Why the air has turned so toxic

Air pollution becomes a severe problem across the region at this time of year, when cold, dense air traps smoke and dust close to the ground. According to Reuters, emissions from vehicles, construction sites and crop waste burning are among the main contributors, and the seasonal smog usually worsens as winter approaches.

Earlier in the week, Lahore had already topped the global ranking. On Tuesday morning, IQAir put the city’s AQI at 447, and its concentration of PM2.5, the fine particulate matter most dangerous to human health, was 60 times higher than the World Health Organization’s annual exposure guideline. An AQI reading of up to 50 is considered good, with little or no health risk.

Officials in Punjab have linked the build-up to a temperature inversion, in which a layer of warmer air sits above colder air at ground level and traps pollution beneath it. Abdullah Nayyar Sheikh, director general of Punjab’s Environment Protection Department, told Reuters that falling temperatures since early November had created those conditions. On Wednesday morning, wind speed in Lahore was close to dead calm, with humidity at 86 per cent.

The provincial government has launched a cleanliness and dust-suppression campaign called Chamkta Lahore, under which roads are being washed daily in an effort to cut dust in the air. The National Disaster Management Authority’s seasonal outlook expects smog risk to rise from mid-November into December, when nights grow colder and inversions become stronger.

Health experts and news reports have advised residents to avoid unnecessary outdoor trips and to wear masks when going out, as the pollution poses serious health risks, particularly for children, older people and those with breathing problems. The Meteorological Department has forecast a minimum temperature of 17 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 30 degrees in Lahore over the next 24 hours, with no rainfall expected to clear the air.