Lahore tops global pollution ranking as AQI crosses 600

Lahore was ranked the world's most polluted major city on Monday, according to IQAir. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 590, with a separate historical hourly reading on the platform climbing as high as 647. Dawn reports that this hourly index placed the city in the hazardous category and that Lahore's pollution level was more than three times that of the second-ranked city.

The IQAir live global ranking for 9am to 10am on November 9 placed Ulaanbaatar second with an AQI of 177, followed by Delhi, Kolkata, and Sarajevo. Within Lahore, several neighborhoods experienced extremely poor air quality; Dawn reports that Allama Iqbal Town recorded an AQI of 1,033, while the CERP Office and Burki Road Paragon reported levels of 864 and 748, respectively.

Daily Times also noted that the city's hourly reading reached 647. According to Dawn, global health statistics indicate that air pollution is the second-leading risk factor for deaths worldwide, accounting for an estimated 8.1 million lives annually, with outdoor particulate matter alone responsible for 4.7 million deaths.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn, Dawn - Pakistan — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.