{"id":100136,"date":"2025-10-19T22:32:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/lahore-ranks-second-among-worlds-most-polluted-cities-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T22:32:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:32:04","slug":"lahore-ranks-second-among-worlds-most-polluted-cities-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/lahore-ranks-second-among-worlds-most-polluted-cities-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Lahore ranks second among world\u2019s most polluted cities | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Smog in Lahore. Photo File: REUTERS <\/p>\n

\n

Lahore has climbed to the second spot among the world\u2019s most polluted cities, according to the global air quality monitoring organization IQAir. On Sunday, the city\u2019s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 209, placing it just behind India\u2019s capital, New Delhi, which topped the list with an AQI of 218.<\/p>\n

The Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that easterly winds have contributed to worsening smog conditions across Lahore. The agency predicted that the city\u2019s average AQI would remain between 195 and 210 throughout the day, classified as \u201cvery unhealthy.\u201d Experts have further warned that air quality could deteriorate in the coming days due to increased fireworks during India\u2019s Diwali celebrations.<\/p>\n

Environmental health experts have described this level of pollution as hazardous, especially for children, the elderly, and those suffering from respiratory illnesses, advising them to stay indoors and limit outdoor exposure.<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0<\/strong>Eastern wind worsens Lahore smog<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, wind speeds are expected to range from 1 to 9 kilometres per hour, which may temporarily improve air quality around midday. The AQI is anticipated to drop to 150 between 12pm. and 5pm., before rising again to between 165 and 200 in the evening hours.<\/p>\n

In response to deteriorating conditions, the Punjab government has intensified its anti-smog operations in Lahore. On the directives of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the Environmental Protection Force, police, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), and district administration have launched joint crackdowns against smoke-emitting and overloaded vehicles entering the city. Trucks and trolleys carrying construction material without proper coverings are also being stopped.<\/p>\n

To control dust emissions, night-time water-sprinkling operations are being carried out at construction sites. The Chief Minister has instructed all relevant departments to submit daily progress reports and enhance public awareness campaigns regarding smog prevention.<\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0<\/strong>Punjab bans use of charcoal, wood at eateries to curb worsening air quality<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the campaign against stubble burning continues across Punjab. The provincial government has deployed 91 balers and 814 Kubota machines to collect crop residues from thousands of acres, converting them into fodder bales. Experts say this initiative represents a positive step toward reducing air pollution and mitigating the effects of smog.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smog in Lahore. Photo File: REUTERS Lahore has climbed to the second spot among the world\u2019s most polluted cities, according to the global air quality monitoring organization IQAir. On Sunday, the city\u2019s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 209, placing it just behind India\u2019s capital, New Delhi, which topped the list with an AQI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.tribune.com.pk\/media\/images\/smog1758814926-0\/smog1758814926-0-640x480.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faisalabad-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}