Lahore: As the cold wave intensified, the city’s atmosphere once again deteriorated to very unhealthy levels, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) touching 241 on Monday.
The sharp decline in air quality added to the hardships faced by residents already struggling with severe cold conditions.
Data collected from IQAir revealed that the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air was alarmingly high, measuring 33.1 times above the World Health Organization’s annual guideline value for PM2.5. Health experts warn that prolonged exposure to such hazardous air quality can pose serious risks, particularly for children, the elderly and those with respiratory or heart conditions.
According to the data, the most polluted localities in the city included Cantonment, where the AQI soared to 485, followed by Barki at 404. Other heavily polluted areas were B Block, Phase 5 DHA (374), Askari X (295), Liberty (255), Civil Secretariat (247), Allama Iqbal Town (240), Thokar (207), Model Town (196) and Bedian Road (189), indicating widespread pollution across Lahore.