Lahore Air Quality Hits Hazardous 535 as Crop Burning Intensifies

Lahore's air quality deteriorated sharply on Monday morning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding 535, according to monitoring platform IQAir. The level of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, was recorded at 343 micrograms per cubic meter. Nearby Gujranwala faced even worse conditions, with an AQI of 606, topping the list of the world's most polluted cities at that time.

Five cities from Punjab province were among Pakistan's six most polluted on IQAir's live ranking. After Gujranwala, Lahore recorded 509, Faisalabad and Multan each 310, and Sialkot 260, while Peshawar stood at 216. The readings fluctuated through the morning, with Gujranwala later climbing to 675 and Lahore to 535, underscoring the severity of the situation.

The spike coincides with a surge in farm fires across the province. An analysis by monitoring website HamariHawa revealed that NASA satellites detected 13,241 fire spots in Pakistani Punjab between October 1 and 29, which is 4.2 times the 3,158 spotted in Indian Punjab. About 92 percent of these fires occurred on farmland and were likely linked to the burning of crop residue. Half of the month's total, 6,655 fire spots, were recorded in the last seven days of October, with a peak of 1,327 on October 29. Okara reported the most fires at 2,144, followed by Gujranwala (1,011) and Nankana Sahib (1,003).

Meanwhile, a new analysis by the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) has cast doubt on the extent of improvement in Lahore's air quality during October, despite government claims that the city experienced its cleanest October in five years. The Punjab government had declared October 2026 as Lahore's cleanest October in five years, with Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb sharing data that put the city's average AQI at 180.5, down from 204.6 last year.

However, PAQI's analysis found that weather conditions did most of the work behind October's improvement. According to the analysis, average PM2.5 concentrations in October 2026 fell by 27 percent compared with the same month last year across 26 monitoring sites. But after accounting for weather conditions, the improvement was estimated at just 4 percent. The analysis attributed a substantial part of the decline to a deeper nighttime atmospheric mixing layer, which allowed pollutants more room to disperse.

The findings highlight the challenges facing authorities as they battle severe air pollution, which poses serious health risks to millions of residents. With crop burning intensifying and weather patterns playing a significant role, sustained efforts are needed to address the root causes of the smog crisis.