Smog engulfed several Pakistani cities on Wednesday as air quality remained in the hazardous range across Punjab, with Lahore once again ranked as the most polluted major city in the world.
According to IQAir, Lahore was the most polluted major city globally between 11am and noon on Wednesday, with an air quality index (AQI) of 425. Readings above 300 are considered hazardous. The Punjab government's own monitors recorded AQI levels of 500 in Muzaffargarh and Nankana Sahib in the same period, Dawn reported.
Other outlets reported even higher figures as the morning wore on. 24News HD reported Lahore's AQI at 450, with readings of 500 at Multan Road, Safari Park and GT Road, 490 at Kahna, 475 in Gulberg and 432 on Egerton Road. A separate report put Multan's AQI at 867, with Kahna Nau in Lahore recording 734 and Raiwind 670.
The main pollutant is PM2.5, the fine airborne particles small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs. On Tuesday, Lahore's concentration of PM2.5 was 37.2 times above the World Health Organization's annual guideline, according to IQAir, and the city topped the Swiss group's ranking of the world's most polluted major cities for a second day running.
The smog has already disrupted daily life and sport in the province. The Pakistan Cricket Board has shifted the second Test against Sri Lanka from Lahore to Rawalpindi because of the hazardous air, meaning both matches in the two-Test series will now be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Fog has also forced restrictions on motorways, including a heavy-vehicle ban on the M-4.
Punjab's Environment Protection Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has blamed the poor air quality on pollution drifting from neighbouring India, where she said light winds carried pollutants into the region in the aftermath of Diwali fireworks. The claim was reported by the Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday, which noted that air pollution was expected to ease gradually from the early afternoon as weather conditions improved and winds shifted.
Health experts warn that prolonged exposure to air at these levels carries serious risks, particularly for children, older people and those with asthma or heart conditions. At AQI levels above 300, the advice is to avoid outdoor activity altogether, keep windows closed and wear a mask when going outside is unavoidable.
The smog season in Lahore typically runs from October to February, when cool, still air traps vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, crop burning and dust close to the ground. Pakistan was ranked the most polluted country in the world in 2025 by IQAir, with fine particle levels up to 13 times the WHO guideline, and Lahore has repeatedly topped the global city rankings during the winter months.
For residents, the pattern is grimly familiar: a thick grey haze by morning, stinging eyes and sore throats by midday, and a skyline that disappears behind the murk. Schools and businesses have in past smog seasons been closed on the worst days, and the provincial government has imposed restrictions on vehicles, kilns and construction in an effort to bring readings down.
Whether the air improves in the coming days will depend on the wind. Forecasters expect conditions to ease as winds shift direction, but with no rain in the forecast and the smog season only just beginning, Lahore is likely to face many more hazardous days before the winter is over.
For now, the numbers speak for themselves: a city of more than 13 million people breathing air that monitoring stations across Punjab are recording at four to five times the level considered hazardous, and a province in which the air itself has become a public health emergency.
