Karachi ranked among the world’s most polluted cities on Saturday morning, highlighting the growing air quality crisis spreading across Pakistan’s major urban centres. According to Swiss air quality monitoring group IQAir, the city recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 119, placing it 11th globally — a level considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.
While Lahore topped national pollution charts with an alarming AQI of 191, ranking second most polluted city in the world, Karachi’s deteriorating air quality reflects a broader environmental challenge driven by urban congestion, industrial emissions, and changing weather patterns.
Experts say Karachi’s rising pollution is linked to vehicular emissions, unregulated industrial activity, and construction dust, compounded by dry weather and weak wind patterns that trap pollutants close to the ground. Environmentalists warn that the city’s air quality often dips sharply during the winter months, mirroring trends in Lahore and other parts of Punjab.
The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) this week warned of worsening smog in several regions, citing stable and dry atmospheric conditions. “The rise in smog levels may trigger an increase in respiratory illnesses, asthma cases, and other pollution-related health problems,” the authority said, adding that children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing conditions are at particular risk.
In Lahore, a metropolis of about 14 million people, dense smog has already enveloped the city and its surroundings. Authorities there have deployed anti-smog guns for the first time to curb airborne pollutants — a measure that Karachi officials may soon have to consider as well.
Each year, from November through February, Pakistan experiences a seasonal smog crisis. Cold, heavy air traps pollutants such as vehicle exhaust, factory smoke, and dust, while crop residue burning in agricultural regions further worsens the haze that drifts southward toward Karachi and other cities.
Environmental experts say Karachi’s worsening air quality should serve as a wake-up call for urban policymakers. Without stricter emission controls, improved public transport, and green urban initiatives, they warn, Pakistan’s largest city could soon face smog levels similar to those choking Lahore and much of Punjab.