Lahore, which is frequently praised as the cultural capital of Pakistan, is currently the most polluted city in the world, per a daily report by the Swiss air-quality monitoring company IQAir.
On October 3, the city’s air quality index (AQI) alarmingly rose to 215 from 175 just a few days earlier on September 30. At present, it holds the second position with an AQI of 161. This decline coincides with Lahore preparing for its infamous pollution season, which usually gets worse over the next few months.
The World Health Organization’s recommended limits for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration were 25.2 times higher in Lahore’s air, making the air quality “very unhealthy.”
Conversely, other Pakistani cities with moderate air quality include Karachi, Islamabad, Abbottabad, and Rawalpindi.
