In the worst winter smog season in years, tens of millions of Pakistanis breathed harmful air pollution 20 times higher than permissible levels for at least four months, according to data analyzed by AFP.
Lahore is frequently the most polluted megacity between November and February, and Pakistan consistently ranks among the most polluted nations in the world.
The 2024–2025 winter smog season began a month early in October and continued at greater levels, even in cities that are typically less impacted by pollution, according to AFP’s analysis of data collected since 2018 by the independent air monitoring project AQICN.
For six months, the 14 million people who live in Lahore were exposed to quantities of PM2.5, which are microscopic particles that can enter the bloodstream and lungs, that are 20 times or more than what the World Health Organization recommends.
