LAHORE: The provincial metropolis ranks among the world’s most polluted cities with the Air Quality Index (AQI) again exceeding the 1,000 mark on Friday.

The AQI in Lahore peaked at an alarming 1,089 at 10am, it rose to 810 in Multan at 7am and 607 in Faisalabad at 6am.

In Lahore, the AQI in some areas reached unprecedented levels as it was 1,250 at CERP Office, 1059 at the Pakistan Engineering Services (Pvt) Ltd, 1,015 at Syed Maratib Ali Road, 898 at Climate Finance Pakistan HQ, 870 at VTS, 808 at Ghazi Road Interchange, 752 at US Consulate in Lahore, 696 at Valencia Town, 669 at WWF-Pakistan, and 655 at Revenue Employees Coop Housing Society.

The AQI measures the level of fine particles (PM2.5), larger particles (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and Ozone (O3) in the air. An AQI of 151 to 200 is classified as “unhealthy”, 201 to 300 “very unhealthy” and more than 300 as “hazardous”.

Meanwhile, the Lahore district administration claimed to have carried out ant-smog operations in every tehsil.

According to a handout, 56 shops were sealed for violation of working hours and a fine of Rs50,000 was imposed, while 10 restaurants and three open barbecue points were also shut down over violations.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024