Lahore air pollution rises as AQI hits 187 across city

Lahore’s AQI climbed to 187 as pollution levels remained high across the city, while Islamabad was set to experience hot and dry weather, reported the 24News HD TV channel on Sunday.

Several areas of Lahore recorded higher pollution levels, with Iqbal Town reporting an AQI of 193, followed by 186 around Paragon City. The AQI stood at 185 on Barki Road, 184 in Model Town and 178 in DHA Phase Five.

Bedian Road recorded an AQI of 174, while Chaman Park reported an AQI of 162. Experts advised citizens to take precautionary measures in view of the elevated pollution levels.

Early morning wind speed in Lahore was recorded at around six kilometres per hour. The temperature stood at 28 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature was expected to reach 33 degrees Celsius and the minimum to remain around 23 degrees Celsius.

Humidity was recorded at 72 percent, while no significant rainfall was expected in the city at the time of the update.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had forecast hot and dry weather across most plain areas of the country, while rain, windstorms and thunderstorms were expected in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper Punjab and the Potohar region during the evening and night.

The weather department had also warned that heavy rain and hailstorms could occur at isolated places, while light rain and thunderstorms were expected at isolated locations in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

In Islamabad, dry weather was expected during the daytime, followed by partly cloudy conditions with a possibility of rain, windstorms and thunderstorms during the evening and night. The probability of rain was forecast at 40 percent.

Most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were expected to remain dry, although rain, windstorms and thunderstorms were forecast in parts of Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Peshawar, Nowshera, Kurram, Kohat and Hangu. Isolated hailstorms were also possible.

In Punjab, most plain districts were expected to experience hot and dry weather during the daytime, while rain, windstorms and thunderstorms were forecast in Murree, Galiyat, Rawalpindi, Mianwali, Attock, Chakwal, Khushab, Sargodha, Bhakkar, Noor Pur Thal, Jhang, Faisalabad, Okara, Kasur, Lahore, Gujranwala and Mandi Bahauddin during the evening and night.

Heavy rain and hailstorms were also possible at isolated locations.

Most parts of Sindh and Balochistan were expected to remain hot and dry, although partly cloudy conditions were forecast in coastal areas of Sindh.

The PMD had said that dry weather prevailed across most parts of the country during the previous 24 hours, while plain areas remained hot. Sibi and Turbat recorded the highest temperature at 42 degrees Celsius, followed by 41 degrees Celsius in Shaheed Benazirabad and Sakrand.

Reporter: Hashir Ahsan, Samra Fatima