The full-day rainfall yesterday in Lahore has brought down the pollution level that recorded a particulate matter rating of 160 that classified the city under the “unhealthy” category of air quality Thursday morning.
Intermittent rain that continued throughout the night also turned the provincial city’s weather chilled. The city was today ranked 10th on the list of most polluted cities in the world.
According to the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA), Lahore’s Sundar Industrial Estate showed air quality index (AQI) reading of 169, National Hockey Stadium 157, Town Hall 104, and Township Sector C2 61.
#Lahore Air Quality index (#AQI)!
06 January 2022
Values provided by Environment Protection Agency Punjab#PSCA #pollution #smog pic.twitter.com/gw4GZZJXEm— Safe City (@PSCAsafecities) January 6, 2022
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted more rain in Lahore in the next 24 hours.
The AQI is calculated on the basis of five categories of pollution: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
AQI as high as 151-200 is considered unhealthy, while an AQI rating between 201 to 300 is more harmful and AQI over 300 is termed extremely toxic.