Seasonal · 5 min read
Lahore smog season 2026: when it starts, how bad it gets and what Punjab is doing
Lahore's smog season runs from October to February and peaks in November. Where the air stands on 15 October 2026 and what Punjab is doing about it.
By the Good Air team
In this article · 6 sections
Lahore's 2026 smog season has begun. Pollution in Pakistan's Punjab usually peaks from October to February, and crop burning on both sides of the border adds the most smoke from late October to mid-November, according to IQAir's Pakistan alert of 13 October 2026 (IQAir, 13 October). On the morning of 15 October, the worst air in Pakistan on Good Air's live map was in southern Punjab, with Multan at a US AQI of 231 and Bahawalpur at 222, both Very Unhealthy, while Lahore read 144.
Lahore has already had bad days. Its AQI reached 194 on 24 September, earlier than in recent years, when smog has tended to start in late October (The News on Sunday, 11 October).
How bad is Lahore's air today?
Lahore's numbers swing widely from hour to hour and between monitors. Here are three readings from the same 24 hours:
- Good Air, about 7 am on 15 October: US AQI 144 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), averaged from monitors across the city.
- Punjab EPA, 8 am on 15 October: 100 (Satisfactory) on the Punjab Environmental Protection Agency's own scale, down from 175 at the same hour on 14 October (Punjab EPA live AQI).
- Punjab EPA stations, 8 am on 15 October: from 65 at Wagha Border to 178 at Kahna Nau, the worst station that hour.
The Punjab EPA scale and the US AQI use different breakpoints, so the same air can get different numbers. Our explainer on why AQI numbers differ between scales shows how this works for India, and the same logic applies in Pakistan.
Across Pakistan, the south of Punjab was worse than Lahore on the morning of 15 October:
| City | US AQI, about 7 am PKT, 15 October 2026 | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Multan | 231 | Very Unhealthy |
| Bahawalpur | 222 | Very Unhealthy |
| Rahim Yar Khan | 188 | Unhealthy |
| Lahore | 144 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups |
| Peshawar | 119 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups |
| Karachi | 112 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups |
| Rawalpindi | 85 | Moderate |
Source: Good Air live readings from OpenAQ monitors. The Pakistan air quality page ranks every city we track and updates through the day.
When does Lahore's smog season start and end?
IQAir's alert of 13 October sets out the yearly pattern for Pakistan's cities:
| Months | What happens |
|---|---|
| June to September | Monsoon rain. The only season of real relief. |
| October | First smog episodes as the rain stops and nights cool. |
| Late October to mid-November | Crop burning peaks in Pakistani and Indian Punjab. Usually the worst weeks. |
| December to February | Cold, still air and temperature inversions trap smoke, exhaust and kiln emissions. Heating fuel adds more. |
| March to May | A smaller rise from dust and the wheat harvest. |
A temperature inversion is a layer of warm air sitting over cold air at the ground. It acts like a lid, holding pollution near the surface until the sun warms the ground. Inversions are strongest on clear, calm winter nights, which is why Lahore's air is often worst late at night and early in the morning.
How bad can it get?
Very bad. In early November 2024, Lahore's AQI passed 1,000, a record for Pakistan, and authorities closed primary schools in Lahore for a week (AP via PBS NewsHour, 4 November 2024). On the US scale, anything above 300 is Hazardous.
Officials say the trend has improved since then. Punjab's PM2.5 levels fell 33% across the province in 2025 compared with 2024, and 13% in Lahore, and Lahore fell from the world's most polluted city in IQAir's 2023 ranking to eighth in 2025 (The News on Sunday, 11 October). In early October 2026, IQAir again ranked Lahore the most polluted city in the world one morning, at an AQI of 167 (The News, 4 October).
Pakistan's national average PM2.5 in 2025 was 67.3 µg/m³, about 14 times the World Health Organization's annual guideline of 5 µg/m³ (IQAir, 13 October).
What causes Lahore's smog?
Several sources add up, and their mix changes with the season:
- Vehicles. Traffic exhaust, including heavy vehicles that give off black smoke.
- Brick kilns and industry. Punjab says all of its 8,000 brick kilns have switched to cleaner "zigzag" firing (The News on Sunday, 11 October).
- Crop burning. Farmers burn rice stubble after the harvest to clear fields for wheat. The smoke from both Pakistani and Indian Punjab peaks from late October to mid-November. Our explainer on stubble burning describes how the same practice affects Delhi.
- Dust. Construction sites and dry roads.
- Waste burning. Open burning of rubbish and leaves.
No official source we found gave a 2026 breakdown by share for Lahore. That is a gap: without it, it is hard to judge which measures will help most.
What is Punjab doing this season?
Punjab's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started its anti-smog campaign before the worst weeks. The measures reported in October 2026 include:
- Crop fires: 67 Quick Response Units with tractor-mounted fire bowsers in 10 hotspot districts, plus satellite fire alerts, drones and patrols along motorways (The News, 12 October). More than 7,900 subsidised Super Seeders, machines that sow wheat through the straw so it does not need burning, have been made available to farmers.
- Schools: On 6 October the EPA asked the School Education Department to promote carpooling among students, parents and staff, because school runs coincide with Lahore's busiest traffic (The News, 6 October).
- Enforcement: More than 700 Environmental Protection Force staff, 26 drone squads and an AI system to spot smoky vehicles, run from a Smog War Room.
- Monitoring: Air monitoring stations rose from three in 2023 to 59, with 100 planned across all 36 districts.
- Planned: Emission scanners at nine entry and exit points of Lahore and 30 electric fog cannons (The News on Sunday, 11 October).
What is not known yet: whether Punjab will close schools or restrict traffic this year, and at what AQI. As of 15 October 2026, no closures had been announced.
How to protect yourself during Lahore's smog season
General advice from IQAir's alert and international health agencies:
- Check the reading, morning and evening. Plan outdoor time for the cleaner hours, often the afternoon. The Lahore air quality page has the latest number.
- Wear a well-fitted mask outdoors on Unhealthy days. Cloth and surgical masks do little against PM2.5; our guide to N95, KN95 and FFP2 masks explains what to buy.
- Keep windows shut on bad days and run an air purifier in the bedroom. Our guide to purifier size helps you choose.
- Take extra care with children, older people and anyone with asthma or heart disease. On the US scale they should cut long or hard outdoor activity from 101 upwards. See what AQI 151 to 200 means for activity.
- Don't burn rubbish or leaves, and report open burning to the Punjab EPA.
Frequently asked questions
When is Lahore's smog season?
Lahore's smog season usually runs from October to February. The worst weeks are typically from late October to mid-November, when crop burning in Pakistani and Indian Punjab peaks, and cold, still air in December and January keeps pollution trapped. Only the June to September monsoon brings real relief.
What is Lahore's AQI today?
On the morning of 15 October 2026, Good Air read Lahore at a US AQI of 144, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, and the Punjab EPA portal showed 100 at 8 am on its own scale. Readings change hourly. The live figure is on Good Air's Lahore air quality page.
Why is Lahore's air so bad in winter?
In winter, Lahore's air is trapped by temperature inversions, layers of warm air over cold air at the ground that stop pollution rising. At the same time, crop burning, vehicle exhaust, brick kilns, dust and waste burning keep adding particles. Rain is rare from October to February, so little washes the air clean.
Will Lahore schools close for smog in 2026?
As of 15 October 2026, Punjab had not announced any smog closures for schools. In November 2024, after Lahore's AQI passed 1,000, primary schools in Lahore closed for a week. Punjab's EPA has asked schools to promote carpooling this year to cut traffic.
Is it safe to visit Lahore in November?
Healthy travellers can visit, but November is usually Lahore's smoggiest month. Check the live AQI each day, carry an N95 or KN95 mask, and plan outdoor sightseeing for the cleaner afternoon hours. People with asthma, heart disease or lung disease should consider another time of year.
