Lahore has been ranked the most polluted city in the world with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 261 (very unhealthy) on Friday.
Data from the IQ Air website at 06:35 pm on Friday showed Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in second place with an AQI of 226 (very unhealthy), followed by Delhi, India, at 221 (very unhealthy).
The cities ranked fourth to sixth have unhealthy air quality, while those ranked 15th to 21st face air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Kolkata, India, holds fourth place with an AQI of 194 (unhealthy), closely followed by Cairo, Egypt, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with AQIs of 192 and 183, respectively, both classified as unhealthy.
Karachi, Pakistan, is in seventh place with an AQI of 178 (unhealthy), followed by Dhaka, Bangladesh, at 176 (unhealthy). Tehran, Iran, is ninth, while Shanghai, China, is tenth with AQIs of 163 and 160 (unhealthy).
Lahore and much of Punjab have been experiencing toxic smog for over a month and a half, with AQI levels fluctuating between unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous. The situation is expected to continue as no significant rain system is forecasted in the near future.