Once again ranking as the most polluted city in the world, Lahore’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has surged to a hazardous 708, with PM2.5 concentrations reaching 431 micrograms per cubic metre—an astounding 86 times above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) safety threshold.
The AQI level, recorded on Monday, signals severe health risks for millions in Pakistan’s provincial capital and underscores Lahore’s ongoing environmental crisis.
Even at its lowest, the city’s AQI registered a “very unhealthy” 246, with air quality measurements in some areas spiking dramatically higher. Lahore’s private air quality monitors have recorded alarming AQI levels, including 953 in Gulberg, 810 near Pakistan Engineering Services, and 784 on Syed Maratab Ali Road.
While private monitors report significantly elevated readings, Lahore’s Environment Protection and Climate Change Department (EPCCD) insists the higher private figures stem from low-cost sensors in private stations, maintaining that government readings provide a more reliable estimate.
The city’s pollution levels, long attributed to stubble burning and seasonal smog, have now become a persistent health hazard due to unchecked emissions, obsolete industrial practices, and what experts term “systemic environmental mismanagement.”
EPCCD officials admitted to gaps in air pollution research, with vehicular contributions to pollution estimated between 40 to 80 per cent.
This has led to growing concern that the pollution crisis is the result of more complex and pervasive issues than seasonal factors alone.
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