Lahore tops global pollution index amid rising smog levels

• PM2.5 levels exceed WHO safe limits.
• Punjab launches anti-smog drive.
• Delhi, Mumbai also among the worst cities.

Lahore was ranked as the world’s most polluted major city on Monday morning as temperatures plummeted, with air quality deteriorating to “very unhealthy” levels, according to Swiss monitoring group IQAir.

At about 8:00 a.m., the city’s air quality index (AQI⁺) was 297, with PM2.5 concentrations reaching 222.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air, about 44.5 times higher than the World Health Organization’s annual guideline value.

Fine particles, small enough to enter the bloodstream, pose serious health risks to residents, especially children, the elderly and those with respiratory illnesses.

Lahore followed New Delhi (287), Mumbai (182) on the global pollution map. Other cities in the top 10 were Kolkata (158), Tashkent (158), Jakarta (154), Dhaka (152) and Dubai (152), with three Indian cities in the top five.

On Sunday, the city’s average AQI was recorded at 160, termed “unhealthy”.

According to IQAir data, PM2.5 was the dominant pollutant, measuring 13.7 times the annual WHO guideline value. Environmentalists said the persistence of PM2.5 pollution indicates that civic agencies like Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Metropolitan Corporation Lahore (MCL) are failing to implement standard anti-smog procedures during ongoing development and construction projects.

They called on Prime Minister Maryam Nawaz to order an immediate halt to large-scale infrastructure and construction activity across Punjab – especially in Lahore and other major cities – warning that without intervention, “the situation will continue to deteriorate”.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that on the chief minister’s orders, nine provincial departments have launched a “major operation” to combat smog. He said the combined efforts of government agencies and public cooperation had brought Lahore’s AQI “under control”.

Aurangzeb said environmental protection teams were on the ground, brick kilns were being monitored by drones and live reports were being issued daily. He said smog guns and air quality monitors have been deployed, and for the first time, a coordinated ‘All-of-Government’ strategy has checked AQI levels in line with predictions.

He added that a modern meteorological data center identifies high pollution zones in advance, allowing targeted action on “smog hotspots”. Departments have been instructed to cover construction materials, while traffic police have been instructed to restrict heavy vehicles during the day. Agencies including WASA, LDA, PHA, C&W and the Department of Agriculture had launched spraying and enforcement operations, including a crackdown on stubble burning in Punjab.

The metropolis has remained a fixture on global pollution maps, often ranking among the most polluted urban centers in the world. Air quality in Lahore typically worsens during the winter season from October to February, when farmers in the greater Punjab province light crop residue, producing smoke that adds to the smog. At the same time, weather changes mean that pollutants remain trapped in the air for longer.

Air pollution in Lahore is caused by a combination of vehicular and industrial emissions, smoke from brick kilns, burning of crop residues and general waste and dust from construction sites. Other factors of air pollution include heavy loss of trees for the construction of new roads and buildings.

Winter air pollution is worse because of the temperature inversion, which results in a layer of warm air that is prevented from rising by trapping air pollutants.

Last year, IQAir recorded Lahore’s pollution peaking at a dangerous AQI of 1,110 on November 14, when PM2.5 levels reached 632 micrograms per cubic meter of air, prompting authorities to declare a health emergency across the province. Schools were closed, universities moved classes online and a construction ban was imposed to ease the crisis.

Last year, however, the smog season started earlier than usual and intensified more strongly. Experts warned that the concentration of PM2.5 particles had already exceeded dangerous levels – marking some of the highest readings in five years.