Punjab blames Indian Diwali fireworks as Lahore tops pollution ranking
Lahore topped IQAir's ranking of the most polluted major cities for a second day, with an AQI of 263. The Punjab government blamed pollution drifting from India after Diwali.
- Lahore had an AQI of 263 on Tuesday, the highest among major cities, according to IQAir.
- Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said light winds carried pollutants from India.
- Delhi ranked second with an AQI of 188.
Lahore topped IQAir's ranking of the world's most polluted major cities for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, with an air quality index (AQI) of 263, a level the Swiss group categorises as "very unhealthy".
The Punjab government blamed this week's poor air on pollution drifting from India. Firecrackers set off during the Hindu festival of Diwali over the weekend blanketed much of northern India in toxic smog.
According to Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, pollutants were carried into the region by light winds and air drifting from India after Diwali. IQAir said Lahore's PM2.5 concentration was 37.2 times above the World Health Organisation's annual guideline.
Aurangzeb said: "However, air pollution is expected to gradually decrease from early afternoon as weather conditions improve and winds shift direction."
IQAir ranked Delhi the world's second-most polluted major city on Tuesday, with an AQI of 188. Indian government data showed firecrackers were responsible for nearly 55 per cent of PM2.5 in Delhi a day earlier.
Vehicle emissions, construction dust and smoke from crop-waste burning are also major contributors to winter pollution on both sides of the border.
Blame over the source of the smog has gone both ways. Pakistan attributed its toxic air in 2024 to crop-waste burning in Indian Punjab, while Indian weather officials said then that wind direction meant airflow was from Pakistan into India.
This month Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has blamed crop-waste burning in Indian Punjab, governed by a regional opposition party, for Delhi's poor air. Local media reported a sevenfold rise in farm fires there on Sunday, when Diwali was celebrated, while the Indian Punjab government says such incidents have fallen compared with previous years.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 4 November that Lahore recorded an AQI of 447, making it the world's most polluted city, according to IQAir. On 6 November it reported an AQI of 458 for Lahore and 719 for Multan. On 9 November it reported Maryam Aurangzeb's warning that smog could intensify, with a PAQI report putting Lahore's average PM2.5 at 214 micrograms per cubic metre between 2 and 8 November.
Why it matters for Pakistan
Residents of Lahore are breathing air that IQAir rates very unhealthy, with PM2.5 at 37.2 times the WHO annual guideline. The Punjab government's statement that conditions should ease from early afternoon is relevant to people deciding when to go outdoors in the city. The dispute over the source of the smog shows that pollution affecting Pakistan's most populous province is linked to conditions across the border.
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