Islamabad, November 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Pakistan’s Lahore was ranked the world’s most polluted city on Monday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 590, according to local media reports citing IQAir data.
IQAir’s global ranking between 9 am and 10 am placed Lahore at the top, Pakistani daily Dawn reported. Its pollution level was more than three times that of the second-ranked city. IQAir’s historical air quality graph also showed an hourly reading of 647 for Lahore during the same period.
Other cities in Pakistan’s Punjab province were also experiencing hazardous air quality. IQAir’s Pakistan city ranking placed Raiwind, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan in the hazardous category.
A report released in October by the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) estimated that air pollution reduces life expectancy in Pakistan by 3.9 years and contributes to around 128,000 premature deaths annually. It also put the economic burden of pollution at 6.5 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The report, titled Unveiling Pakistan’s Air Pollution: A National Landscape Report on Health Risks, Sources, and Solutions, presents a multi-sector emissions inventory and analyses air quality in cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Peshawar. It identifies major pollution sources and outlines measures that could reduce emissions by up to 50 per cent, The Express Tribune reported.
According to the assessment, Lahore’s annual average PM2.5 concentration exceeds 110 micrograms per cubic metre, more than 22 times the World Health Organisation’s annual guideline of five micrograms per cubic metre. Long-term exposure to these pollution levels could reduce life expectancy in the city by up to seven years.
Transport was identified as the largest source of primary PM2.5 emissions in Lahore, followed by industry, accounting for 28 per cent, and brick kilns at 17 per cent. Winter weather conditions further aggravate the city’s particulate pollution, the report said.
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