Lahore and Karachi were listed among the three most polluted cities in the world on Friday morning, as their air quality remained in the "very unhealthy" level amidst the country's ongoing struggle with smog.
The Punjab capital led the global pollution chart by the Swiss air quality monitor, recording an air quality index (AQI) value of 266 at 9:14am, while Karachi registered an AQI value of 216, securing third place.
The province has been shrouded in toxic smog for over two months, with Lahore bearing the brunt as the severely affected for most days. Meanwhile, Karachi's air quality has gradually worsened, crossing the "very unhealthy" threshold for human health last week for the first time in a month.
As smog persists in various parts of the country amid the ongoing pollution crisis, the air quality in Karachi deteriorated to "very unhealthy" for the first time in a month.
Today, the concentration of toxic PM2.5 pollutants in Karachi's atmosphere was 27.8 times higher than the World Health Organisation's (WHO) guidelines value, around 9:20am.
Though, the port-city's stint in the "very unhealthy" category was short lived as it's AQI improved to 173 by 10:20am.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh capital Dhaka ranked as the second-most polluted city in terms of air quality and India' New Delhi held the fourth spot, with an AQI value of 189, which shows a massive improvement from the unprecedented hike reported last month.
Every winter, a mix of low-grade fuel emissions from factories and vehicles, exacerbated by seasonal crop burn-off by farmers, blanket parts of Punjab, trapped by cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds.
As cold weather sets in in Karachi as well, the metropolis' air quality sees gradual decline. The Met Office has predicted night-time temperature to drop as low as 15 degrees Celcius during the ongoing week.
Breathing toxic air has catastrophic health consequences, with the WHO warning that strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases can be triggered by prolonged exposure.
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