Heavy smog engulfs DG Khan, Kasur

LAHORE:

Punjab's major cities remained engulfed in heavy smog and hazardous pollution on Saturday morning, as the air quality plummeted to dangerous levels across the province.

According to international environmental monitoring agency IQAir, the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached the maximum value of 500 in Dera Ghazi Khan and Kasur at 9am, placing both cities among the most polluted in the world. The readings surpassed Lahore, which has long been considered the country's pollution hotspot.

Environmental experts attributed the worsening air quality to polluted winds drifting from across the Indian border, a drop in temperature, stagnant wind conditions and a lack of rainfall — all factors preventing the dispersion of pollutants.

An environmental expert and member of the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative, Maryam Shah, observed that "the air was relatively cleaner at the start of 2025, but PM2.5 concentrations in October reached the levels recorded in the month last year."

She warned, "We are entering November — typically the peak smog month — with the same high baseline of pollution that preceded last year's severe smog episode." Experts believe that the combination of current pollutant levels and prevailing weather patterns has significantly heightened the risk of another intense smog wave this year.