Lahore and Karachi were listed among the world’s ten most polluted cities on Thursday as air quality in both urban centres reached unhealthy levels.
Data from the IQAir website recorded at 1:05 pm showed Lahore ranked fourth globally with an AQI of 209, placing it in the very unhealthy category. Karachi stood at tenth position with an AQI of 163, which is considered unhealthy.
Cairo topped the list with an AQI of 402, classified as hazardous, followed by Dhaka at 286 and Delhi at 228, both falling in the very unhealthy range. Lahore followed closely behind Delhi.
Bishkek ranked fifth with an AQI of 200, while Tehran, Almaty, and Kolkata also appeared among the most polluted cities with unhealthy air quality levels. Doha was placed ninth, just ahead of Karachi.
According to the data, air quality in the top-ranked city was hazardous, the next three cities recorded very unhealthy conditions, while cities ranked from fifth to sixteenth fell into the unhealthy category.