Lahore’s alarming AQI hits 708, tops list of world's most polluted cities

Once again topping global pollution charts, Lahore’s Air Quality Index (AQI) surged to an alarming 708, positioning it as the most polluted city worldwide, according to Dawn. Concentrations of PM2.5 pollutants skyrocketed to 431 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3), a staggering 86 times above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual safety threshold, intensifying health risks for millions of residents.

Even Lahore's lowest AQI readings remain dangerously high, with the provincial capital recording 246 – a level categorized as “very unhealthy.” Experts caution that Lahore’s severe pollution is now a chronic issue rather than a seasonal anomaly, noting that hazardous smog lingers even during the summer, pointing to “systemic environmental mismanagement” as a critical factor.

The crisis extends beyond seasonal stubble burning, involving unchecked vehicular emissions, outdated industrial practices, and insufficient environmental regulation. Private air quality monitoring stations across Lahore have registered even more troubling AQI levels, with some readings as high as 953 in Gulberg, 810 near Pakistan Engineering Services, and 784 on Syed Maratab Ali Road.

Despite these findings, the Environment Protection and Culture Change Department (EPCCD) downplayed the private AQI data, attributing differences to the use of lower-cost sensors in government monitors and asserting that private readings “could not be considered reliable.” Nonetheless, the EPCCD admitted a significant gap in Pakistan’s research on smog origins, with official estimates of vehicular contributions to Lahore's pollution ranging broadly from 40 to 80 percent.

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