Air pollution in Lahore reached hazardous levels on Monday morning, with the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) climbing to 535 at 8am.
The PM2.5 concentration, referring to fine particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, stood at 343 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³).
Air quality had deteriorated sharply during the early hours, with hourly readings also falling within the hazardous category.
The worsening pollution was not limited to Lahore. Five cities in Punjab were among Pakistan’s six most polluted urban centres in the latest live rankings.
Gujranwala topped the list with an AQI of 606, followed by Lahore at 509. Faisalabad and Multan recorded readings of 310 each, while Sialkot stood at 260. Peshawar ranked sixth with an AQI of 216.
Subsequent hourly updates showed further fluctuations, with Gujranwala’s AQI reaching 675 and Lahore recording 535, reflecting the rapidly changing pollution situation.
The deterioration comes amid a significant rise in agricultural fire detections across Punjab.
An analysis of satellite data found that 13,241 fire spots were detected in Pakistani Punjab between October 1 and 29, compared with 3,158 in Indian Punjab — around 4.2 times higher.
Approximately 92 per cent of the detected fires in Pakistani Punjab were located on agricultural land and were likely linked to crop-residue burning.
The analysis showed that 6,655 fire spots, accounting for nearly half of the monthly total, were recorded during the final seven days of October. October 29 witnessed the highest number of detections, with 1,327 fires.
Okara reported the highest number of fire spots at 2,144, followed by Gujranwala with 1,011 and Nankana Sahib with 1,003.
The findings highlight extensive agricultural burning across the rice-growing belt surrounding Lahore. Smoke from these fires, combined with emissions from vehicles, industrial activity and other sources, contributes to the region’s pollution levels.
Weather conditions, including weak winds and atmospheric inversions, can further worsen the situation by trapping pollutants close to the ground.
Meanwhile, a separate assessment by the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) has questioned claims that Lahore experienced its cleanest October in five years, suggesting that favourable weather conditions played a significant role in the reported improvement.
According to the analysis, average PM2.5 concentrations across 26 monitoring sites declined by 27 per cent in October 2026 compared with the same month last year.
However, after adjusting for weather conditions, the improvement was estimated at only four per cent.
The assessment attributed much of the reduction to meteorological factors, particularly a deeper nighttime atmospheric mixing layer, which allowed pollutants to disperse over a larger vertical area.
The remaining improvement was linked to a combination of government measures, changes in agricultural burning and other pollution sources. However, the analysis did not establish the precise contribution of each factor.
Despite the decline, PM2.5 concentrations remained above Pakistan’s prescribed daily limit on every day in October, according to the assessment.
A forecast issued on November 1 projected PM2.5 levels to rise to 149µg/m³ by Wednesday, November 4, approximately 49 per cent above October’s average.
The findings present a more cautious picture of the progress claimed by the provincial government.
Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb had earlier shared figures showing that Lahore’s average US AQI (PM2.5) stood at 180.5 in October 2026, compared with 204.6 in 2025, 213 in 2024 and approximately 193 to 195 in 2022 and 2023.
The government’s figures also indicated that October 2026 was the only year among the five in which Lahore did not record an AQI above 300. The highest reading during the month was 262 on October 31.
However, the PAQI assessment emphasised that weather conditions accounted for much of the improvement and that pollution levels remained above national health standards throughout October.
With air quality deteriorating again in November, the latest pollution readings and satellite fire detections underline the continuing challenge of controlling crop-residue burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution across Punjab.
