Lahore has topped a global ranking of the world’s most polluted cities, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 240, according to an international air quality monitoring website. Toxic air has continued to cover the provincial capital of Punjab, where the reading falls within the “very unhealthy” range, based on data from the Swiss monitor.
The website, IQAir, said the city’s PM2.5 level, fine particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs, was 33 times the World Health Organisation’s annual guideline. Other cities also recorded poor readings, with Faisalabad at 283, Peshawar at 245 and Gujranwala at 228.
Punjab authorities point to pollution drifting from India
Punjab authorities blamed this week’s poor air on pollutants blown in from neighbouring India, where firecrackers lit during Diwali over the weekend covered much of the north in smog. Environment Protection Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said light winds carried the pollutants across the border after the festival.
Also read: Lahore tops world pollution list as Punjab smog worsens · Lahore stays top of polluted cities list amid poor air quality
“However, air pollution is expected to gradually decrease from early afternoon as weather conditions improve and winds shift direction,” she said. India’s foreign ministry had not immediately responded to a request for comment.
Delhi ranking and crop-burning claims on both sides
IQAir placed Delhi second on its list of the world’s most polluted major cities on Tuesday, with an AQI of 188. Indian government data indicated that firecrackers accounted for nearly 55% of PM2.5 in the Indian capital a day earlier. Vehicle emissions, construction dust and crop-residue smoke also contribute to winter pollution on both sides of the border.
Pakistan previously blamed its 2024 smog on crop-waste burning in Indian Punjab, but officials from India’s weather department said at the time that wind direction showed airflow moving from Pakistan into India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has blamed crop-waste burning in Indian Punjab, which is governed by a regional opposition party, for Delhi’s poor air this month. Local media reported a sevenfold rise in farm fires in the state on Sunday, when Diwali was marked. Indian Punjab’s state government, however, says crop-waste burning incidents have declined compared with earlier years.
