Air quality in Lahore and nearby cities reaches hazardous levels as cross-border smoke worsens pollution, prompting health warnings.
LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Nov,3rd , 2025) Punjab’s major cities are engulfed in thick smog as air quality levels reach dangerously high readings, posing serious health risks to residents.
According to official data, the Air Quality Index (AQI) has surged to 500 in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, and Kasur. International monitoring agency IQAir reported Gujranwala’s AQI at an alarming 762 — one of the world’s highest readings.
In Lahore, key monitoring points recorded extreme pollution levels: F.F. Pakistan (790), Civil Secretariat (770), Sanda Road (718), and Bedian Road (714). Other areas, including Burki Road, Shahdara, Kahna, Multan Road, GT Road, Wagah Border, and Egerton Road, also showed AQI readings near 500. Slightly better air was reported in DHA Phase 6 (369), Safari Park (357), and Punjab University (355).
Punjab’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) stated that pollution levels spiked sharply after 4 a.m. Winds blowing from the east and southeast have carried smoke from India’s Punjab region — including Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Hoshiarpur — into Lahore, Kasur, Sahiwal, Faisalabad, and Multan, worsening the smog.
Experts warn that fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) mixing with cross-border smoke will further deteriorate air quality. Calm morning winds (1–3 mph) are trapping pollutants close to the ground, though slight improvement is expected around noon. However, stronger evening winds (6–8 mph) may push the polluted air deeper into central Punjab.
Meteorologists attribute the severe smog to a temperature inversion, which traps cold air near the ground and prevents pollutant dispersion. The day’s average AQI is forecast between 330 and 360, categorized as “extremely unhealthy” by global standards.
The Health Department has advised citizens — especially children, the elderly, and those with respiratory or heart conditions — to avoid outdoor activities between midnight and noon, and again after 7 p.m. Air quality in Lahore, Faisalabad, Okara, and Sahiwal is expected to worsen further.
Meanwhile, the EPA has intensified anti-smog operations. Officials reported demolishing a large industrial unit that had been illegally reopened after sealing. Large quantities of carbon-filled bags and equipment were seized, and the suspects handed over to police. Authorities affirmed that such actions are part of the ongoing campaign to curb smog across Punjab.
