Lahore tops list of world’s most polluted cities as AQI reaches 300

LAHORE: Lahore recorded an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 300 on October 31, with pollution levels in several localities rising significantly, according to a private international air quality monitoring organisation.

Gulberg reported the city’s highest reading at 445, followed by Allama Iqbal Town at 427 and Model Town at 332, indicating severe air pollution across different parts of the provincial capital.

The latest readings come amid worsening smog in Lahore, which faces recurring air pollution during the winter months. Vehicle emissions, industrial pollution, crop-residue burning and weather conditions that trap pollutants close to the ground are among the factors contributing to the problem.

Earlier, on October 23, Swiss air quality monitoring platform IQAir ranked Lahore as the world’s most polluted city, recording an AQI of 410. India’s New Delhi followed with a reading of 203, while Senegal’s Dakar stood third at 196. That reading was recorded on IQAir’s live tracker and was separate from the October 31 figures.

IQAir had reported that Lahore’s PM2.5 concentration was 45.2 times the World Health Organisation’s annual guideline value. Fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, increasing the risk of serious health complications, particularly with prolonged exposure.

The platform advised residents to avoid outdoor exercise, keep windows closed, wear masks when outdoors and use air purifiers indoors.

The Punjab government’s air quality monitoring platform had recorded an AQI of 339 for Lahore at 11am on October 22, based on readings from 10 monitoring stations. Differences between readings reported by different platforms can result from variations in monitoring stations, data sources, averaging periods and measurement methods.

Lahore was the only Pakistani city among IQAir’s 20 most polluted cities on October 23. Karachi also appeared on the platform’s broader list of 21 cities, with an AQI of 110.

Earlier in October, Lahore had also topped IQAir’s global pollution ranking, recording an AQI of 167 on October 2. Separately, an analysis by the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service had placed Lahore among cities experiencing extremely poor ozone levels.