Lahore Faces Hazardous Air Quality with 708 AQI, Ranked World’s Most Polluted City

Lahore is grappling with dangerously high air quality levels, having been ranked as the world’s most polluted city.The situation has raised significant health concerns among residents and prompted urgent calls for action to address the ongoing environmental crisis. The Air Quality Index (AQI) reached a staggering 708, while the day’s lowest reading was a concerning 246, noted between 4 pm and 5 pm, still deemed “very unhealthy.”

The PM2.5 concentration soared to an alarming 431µg/m³, an astonishing 86.2 times above the annual guideline set by the World Health Organisation. The current circumstances have sparked pressing health issues, leading to demands for swift governmental intervention to tackle the persistent smog crisis and its effects on the well-being of the public.

For the second consecutive time, Lahore has been ranked as the world’s most polluted city, with New Delhi coming in a distant second, reporting an AQI of 232 at 11 PM and peaking at 271 at 6 AM. In Lahore, certain areas experienced alarmingly high AQI levels, including a staggering 953 at the CERP office in Gulberg, 810 at Pakistan Engineering Services Ltd, and 784 at Syed Maratab Ali Road.

Experts are increasingly skeptical of government data on the main causes of smog, such as vehicles and stubble burning. Some people argue that smog persists around Lahore even in June, suggesting other underlying factors. They urge the government to offer ‘accurate information’ on smog and educate the public about smog’s adverse effects on health.

Raja Jahangir Anwar, Secretary for Environment Protection and Culture Change Department(EPCCD)identified various causes to smog in Lahore such as, car emissions, crop residue burning, factory emissions, brick kilns, etc. He said that the AQI data at the moment uses “private and low-cost sensors,” which may affect its reliability

Regarding smog causes, Anwar noted the lack of comprehensive scientific research, citing three conflicting studies in Pakistan that attribute varying levels of smog to vehicular pollution, ranging from 40% to 80%.Traffic congestion of millions of motorcycles and cars, thousands of factories, stow burning of stubbles in nearby districts; Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Nankana Sahib, Gujranwala, and so on.

Currently, the government has three air quality monitors in Lahore, with more expected by November 10. “The government has three functional air quality monitors installed in Gulberg, Mall Road and Punjab University and eight more would be installed by Nov 10 and the number would reach to 16 after five mobile van air quality monitors would also be installed this year. A central control room has been established and the air quality report is released on a daily basis from the station.”

In response to the deteriorating quality of the air, Punjab government has set up an 11-member committee comprised of analysts from different organizations dealing with environment and research field in order to make better AQI reports more standardized. This committee will work to resolve AQI data inconsistencies, assess available technologies, and propose a legal framework for standardized, reliable AQI reporting.

The Punjab government has issued an emergency alert, which encourages residents of Lahore to wear masks and seal their windows. It is recommended that vulnerable populations, including the elderly, infants, and individuals with respiratory or cardiac conditions, remain indoors. Additionally, restrictive measures are being implemented, such as the confiscation of smoke-emitting vehicles, the requirement of zigzag technology in brick kilns, and the imposition of penalties on farmers who engage in crop residue burning.