Lahore AQI hits 410 as city tops world's most polluted list again

Lahore woke up on Friday as the most polluted major city in the world. IQAir’s live ranking put the city’s air quality index at 410 on Friday morning, in the “very unhealthy” band, with New Delhi a distant second at 203, Dawn reported.

The number moved through the morning. Geo News, using IQAir data from around 8am, reported a reading of 344, and it listed neighbourhoods where it was far worse: Iqbal Town at 535, Airwash on Bedian Road at 497 and Kahna at 446. Defence Phase 5 and Model Town were around 350.

How bad is an AQI of 410?

The scale tops out in the “hazardous” range, and Lahore is close to it. The main culprit is PM2.5, the fine dust and smoke particles small enough to get deep into the lungs and the bloodstream. IQAir put Lahore’s PM2.5 level at more than 45 times the World Health Organisation’s annual guideline, according to Dawn; Geo’s earlier reading put it at 57 times.

Geo noted that these particles raise the risk of stroke, heart disease and long-term breathing illness, and that UNICEF warns children are especially exposed to chest infections in air like this.

The Punjab government’s own monitoring network, which averages 10 stations across the city, gave a lower but still “very unhealthy” reading of 339 at 11am on Thursday. Dawn pointed out the two systems use different stations and averaging periods, so they rarely match. Neither of them is good news.

Why does this happen every October?

Cooler air sits low over the city at this time of year and traps whatever goes into it: smoke from burning crop stubble, exhaust from vehicles, factory fumes and construction dust. The smog season usually peaks in November.

The climb this year has been quick. On October 2, Lahore also topped IQAir’s list, but with an AQI of 167. Three weeks later the number is more than double.

Is the government’s smog campaign working?

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has ordered a campaign against factories breaking environmental rules, smoke-emitting vehicles and brick kilns. At the end of September, the provincial government said drone and field squads inspected 269 industrial units in one day and sealed 11, The Nation reported.

Not everyone is convinced. Human rights activist Sheikh Saqib told Dawn that both his children have throat infections from the smog and that he still sees crops being burnt along the motorways. “Vehicles emitting smoke are still running on Lahore’s roads,” he said. He also warned that school attendance could fall sharply as parents keep children at home.

What can you do today?

IQAir’s advice for Lahore is simple and worth following this week:

• Skip outdoor exercise, especially early morning walks when the air is usually worst.
• Keep doors and windows shut.
• Wear a proper mask outside. An N95 or KN95 does far more than a cloth mask.
• Run an air purifier indoors if you have one, and keep children and older relatives inside as much as possible.

If someone at home has asthma or a heart condition, keep their medicines close and see a doctor early if breathing gets harder. The next thing to watch is whether Punjab announces school closures or a “smog emergency”, as it has done in previous Novembers.