https://arab.news/gqdba
- Air Quality Index reached high of 255 on Wednesday, which is in “very unhealthy” category
- Lahore yearly deals with smoggy conditions and poor air quality in the winter months
LAHORE: A toxic haze shrouded Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, with the air quality reading largely in the “very unhealthy” category for the first half of the day.
According to data from the Swiss monitoring group, IQAir, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) reached a high of 255 at around midnight local time (1900 GMT, October 22), which is in the “very unhealthy” category.
The AQI reading improved slightly at around noon local time (0700 GMT), when it moved into the “unhealthy” category at 190.
Lahore deals with smoggy conditions and poor air quality in the winter months, a phenomenon that is also common in other parts of South Asia. During this time, cold, heavy air traps pollutants, including vehicle emissions, industrial smoke and dust.
The seasonal crisis is often exacerbated by agricultural burning and, this week, by firecrackers set off during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights mostly celebrated in India, on Monday (October 21).