LAHORE — Lahore’s air turned dangerous this week. On Thursday morning, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 419 in IQAir readings taken between 10am and 11am — the worst of any major city in the world at that time, Dawn reported. Any reading above 300 is classed as hazardous. The Punjab government’s own air quality dashboard put Lahore at 324 on Thursday morning, still deep in the hazardous band.
Thursday was the peak of a bad week. On Wednesday, the citywide index stood at 358, and one neighbourhood, Allama Iqbal Town, recorded 605. The air did ease later on Thursday, with IQAir putting Lahore at 183 by 1pm, and by Friday afternoon weather.com’s live reading for the city was 139 on the AQI scale — lower, but still classed as unhealthy for sensitive groups. Readings swing sharply during the day. The worst hours are usually the still, damp mornings, when cold air traps pollution close to the ground.
Schools in Lahore stopped outdoor activities on Tuesday. But as of Friday, the Punjab government had not announced any school closures, and parents were still waiting for a decision. The government’s main response so far has been enforcement. In a month-long drive from September 28 to October 27, environment department teams inspected 11,580 brick kilns, demolishing 197 and sealing 163, and inspected 6,650 industrial sites, sealing 191, with fines of about Rs69 million across both, Dawn reported. Water-misting anti-smog guns are also at work on the city’s roads. Air quality experts told reporters the government let cloudy days in October pass without using artificial rain to wash the smog out; officials point to the enforcement drive and the monitoring dashboard instead.
A new national report by the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative shows why the smog matters. It found that Lahore’s average yearly level of PM2.5 — the fine particles that do the most harm — is above 110 micrograms per cubic metre, more than 22 times the World Health Organization’s guideline. The report linked air pollution across Pakistan to about 128,000 early deaths a year and 3.9 years cut from average life expectancy.
How to protect your family
The Punjab Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory, published on its AQI dashboard, gives simple steps that change with the reading. Check the AQI before going out, especially in the morning. When it passes 150, keep children indoors, keep older people at home, close doors and windows, and wear a mask outside. Above 200, use a fitted N95 mask if you must go out. Above 300, stay indoors. Older people, and patients with lung or heart disease, should check their oxygen and blood pressure regularly, keep emergency aids such as a nebuliser ready, and ask their own doctor which mask is right for them. Get medical help at once for breathing difficulty, coughing, or eye or throat irritation. In an emergency, call Rescue 1122.
If schools are to close, the order will come from the EPA’s director general, followed by a notification from the School Education Department. Until those official notices appear, no closure order is in force — rely on the official notifications, not on rumours on social media.
