The Punjab Environment Protection Department on Sunday issued a smog alert for the province following an abnormal drop in Lahore’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI), which also affected the visibility in the provincial capital.
Lahore remained at the top of the list of the most polluted cities in the world with the AQI reaching an extremely low level, indicating a worsening smog situation in the provincial capital.
As Punjab battles with increasing smog with the arrival of winter season, the AQI of Punjab capital dropped as low as 700 this morning (Sunday) before improving to 537, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company.
According to the air quality classification by IQAir, the atmosphere becomes “hazardous” to health after the AQI crosses the 300 mark.
An AQI of 0-5 is considered “good”, 51-100 is considered “moderate”, 101-150 is “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, 151-200 is simply “unhealthy”, 201 – 300 is “very unhealthy”, while more than 301 degrees indicates “hazardous”.
As per the alert, polluted air is expected to enter Lahore from Amritsar, New Delhi, Chandigarh as well as the Amritsar as the smog-laden air pressure increased with winds moving towards Lahore at a speed of 7 kilometres per hour.
