Air quality
Air quality in Lahore today
Updated
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 147) People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 7:00 am (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 147 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
- PM2.5
- 73 µg/m³ 4.9× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 78 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 40 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 147
- Best hour today
- 9:00 pm AQI 140
- European AQI
- 71
Air quality in Lahore right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan is 147, which falls in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" band (up to 150). People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 147. Fine and coarse particles come from traffic, heating, industry, dust and smoke; they build up on calm nights and clear when wind or rain arrives.
PM2.5 is 73 µg/m³, 4.9 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 78 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 40 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 42 µg/m³ (above the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 1108 µg/m³.
Lahore AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 136 around Tue 1:00 am to 149 around Mon 11:00 am, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 151 against 142 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Asia/Karachi) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 7:00 am | 147 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 72.9 | 78 | 40 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 148 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 43.1 | 48 | 119 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 147 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 24.2 | 30 | 175 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 144 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 24.3 | 28 | 112 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 141 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 52.7 | 55 | 48 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 139 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 55.5 | 58 | 38 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 136 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 65.7 | 69 | 37 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 137 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 73.8 | 78 | 31 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 142 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 95.5 | 100 | 20 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 148 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 58.7 | 64 | 115 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 29.6 | 34 | 190 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 151 | Unhealthy | 29.3 | 32 | 116 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 151 | Unhealthy | 68.2 | 71 | 42 |
| Tue 10:00 pm | 153 | Unhealthy | 66.6 | 70 | 36 |
| Wed 1:00 am | 153 | Unhealthy | 61.2 | 65 | 51 |
| Wed 4:00 am | 153 | Unhealthy | 64.5 | 69 | 44 |
| Wed 7:00 am | 152 | Unhealthy | 86.6 | 91 | 23 |
Every third hour of the CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo. US AQI uses rolling averages (24 h for particles, 8 h for ozone), so it moves more slowly than the hourly concentrations.
Best time to be outside in Lahore today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 9:00 pm (AQI 140, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 11:00 am (AQI 149). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Lahore vs the rest of Pakistan
Across 50 Pakistan cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 119 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Lahore at 147 is 28 points worse than average.
It ranks 33 of 50 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Battagram (56) and the most polluted Chak Jhumra (158).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Lahore
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Town | 9 km | 141 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 66.1 |
| Shekhupura | 39 km | 137 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 64.5 |
| Kamoke | 48 km | 125 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 59.5 |
| Kasur | 50 km | 152 | Unhealthy | 70.5 |
| Amritsar | 50 km | 145 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 63.6 |
| Eminabad | 55 km | 125 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 59.5 |
| Gujranwala | 68 km | 130 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 66.4 |
| Firozpur | 75 km | 152 | Unhealthy | 70.5 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 53 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 3 sensors), centred about 3 km from the city centre. That is 19.9 µg/m³ below the model estimate of 73 µg/m³. Low-cost sensors can read high in humid air; reference monitors are more accurate but sparser.
Wildfire smoke
PM2.5 is forecast to reach 96 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 221 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 25 km away). Smoke is a likely contributor: keep windows closed, run an air purifier or HVAC filter, and check the fire map before heading out.
Advice for sensitive groups
At 147, children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with asthma, COPD or heart disease should limit time outdoors, especially strenuous activity. A well-fitted N95/FFP2 mask cuts particle exposure; it does not filter ozone.
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Values on this page are modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) and served by Open-Meteo; they are estimates for the area around the city centre, not readings from an official monitor.
Nearby cities
More for Lahore
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.