Lahore’s air quality has worsened significantly, with the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassing 530 on Monday morning, raising serious health concerns for residents.
Several other cities across Punjab, including Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan and Sialkot, also reported dangerously high levels of air pollution.
According to Swiss air quality monitoring platform IQAir, Lahore recorded an AQI of 535 at 8 AM, placing it in the hazardous category. The concentration of PM2.5 particles, which are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, reached 343 micrograms per cubic metre.
The pollution crisis has spread across the province, with five Punjab cities appearing among Pakistan’s six most polluted urban centres on Monday morning.
Gujranwala ranked first nationally with an AQI of 606, while Lahore followed with a reading of 509. Faisalabad and Multan both recorded an AQI of 310, while Sialkot registered 260. Peshawar secured the sixth position with an AQI of 216.
Hourly updates later showed further increases in pollution levels. Gujranwala’s AQI climbed to 675, while Lahore’s reached 535, highlighting the rapid changes in air quality across the region.
The latest surge in pollution comes after Lahore was declared the world’s most polluted major city on October 29, when its AQI reached 419.
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Crop Burning Worsens Punjab’s Smog Situation
The burning of agricultural waste has become another growing concern as air pollution continues to intensify across Punjab.
An analysis released by environmental monitoring platform HamariHawa revealed that NASA satellites detected 13,241 fire spots across Pakistani Punjab between October 1 and 29.
During the same period, Indian Punjab recorded 3,158 fire spots, according to the analysis.
The findings highlight the scale of agricultural burning in the region as Punjab continues to face deteriorating air quality and rising smog levels.
Clarify the conflicting Lahore readings. Clarify the AQI timeline