SmogRank / Episodes / Pakistan

Pakistan and India, May 2026

For 3 days, from 8 to 10 May 2026, 12 cities in Pakistan and India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan: 182.0 µg/m³ on 10 May, about 4.8× its usual 38.3.

No cause namedWe have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached12in 2 countries
Days38 to 10 May 2026
Worst day10 May11 cities counted
Furthest above usual8.5×Murree

Day by day

10 May 11 cities at twice their usual or more
AmritsarSri GanganagarBathindaHanumāngarhJalandharLudhianaSirsaSrinagarFatehābādKhannaGobindgarhRoparPatiālaMohaliBaddiChandigarhKaithalPanchkulaAmbālaJīndThānesarKarnālYamuna NagarPanipatMuzaffarnagarBahawalpurMultanLahorePeshawarFaisalabadJammuIslamabadRawalpindiSialkotGujranwalaKotli LoharanMurree
5 May678910111213
Every measured city in the area, coloured by its PM2.5 that day; a dark ring marks a city at twice its usual or more. Bars: cities counted each day, coloured by their median level. Choose a day or press play; without JavaScript, the days link to that day's world ranking.

How it spread

FaisalabadFaisalabad, 5 May: 49.1 µg/m³Faisalabad, 6 May: 96.5 µg/m³Faisalabad, 7 May: 88.4 µg/m³Faisalabad, 8 May: 99.4 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 43.6Faisalabad, 9 May: 121.5 µg/m³, 2.8× its usual 43.6Faisalabad, 10 May: 125.0 µg/m³, 2.9× its usual 43.6Faisalabad, 11 May: 46.5 µg/m³Faisalabad, 12 May: 44.4 µg/m³Faisalabad, 13 May: 76.4 µg/m³GujranwalaGujranwala, 5 May: 37.6 µg/m³Gujranwala, 6 May: 57.8 µg/m³Gujranwala, 7 May: 64.4 µg/m³Gujranwala, 8 May: 83.1 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 34.4Gujranwala, 9 May: 122.0 µg/m³, 3.6× its usual 34.3Gujranwala, 10 May: 182.0 µg/m³, 4.8× its usual 38.3Gujranwala, 11 May: 45.3 µg/m³Gujranwala, 12 May: 40.7 µg/m³Gujranwala, 13 May: 62.7 µg/m³MurreeMurree, 5 May: 6.0 µg/m³Murree, 6 May: 19.0 µg/m³Murree, 7 May: 36.0 µg/m³Murree, 8 May: 75.8 µg/m³, 6.6× its usual 11.5Murree, 9 May: 97.5 µg/m³, 8.5× its usual 11.5Murree, 10 May: 90.6 µg/m³, 7.2× its usual 12.5Murree, 11 May: 17.4 µg/m³Murree, 12 May: 22.5 µg/m³Murree, 13 May: 24.6 µg/m³MultanMultan, 5 May: 27.8 µg/m³Multan, 6 May: 60.5 µg/m³Multan, 7 May: 50.2 µg/m³Multan, 8 May: 73.1 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 35.2Multan, 9 May: 71.0 µg/m³Multan, 10 May: 72.7 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 36.2Multan, 11 May: 57.1 µg/m³Multan, 12 May: 45.7 µg/m³Multan, 13 May: 75.3 µg/m³IslamabadIslamabad, 5 May: 16.9 µg/m³Islamabad, 6 May: 22.9 µg/m³Islamabad, 7 May: 34.8 µg/m³Islamabad, 8 May: 72.2 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 29.7Islamabad, 9 May: 79.9 µg/m³, 2.7× its usual 29.8Islamabad, 10 May: 97.7 µg/m³, 3.3× its usual 29.8Islamabad, 11 May: 28.2 µg/m³Islamabad, 12 May: 26.4 µg/m³Islamabad, 13 May: 32.8 µg/m³RawalpindiRawalpindi, 5 May: 26.2 µg/m³Rawalpindi, 6 May: 29.0 µg/m³Rawalpindi, 7 May: 40.4 µg/m³Rawalpindi, 8 May: 67.4 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 27.9Rawalpindi, 9 May: 78.4 µg/m³, 2.8× its usual 28.3Rawalpindi, 10 May: 91.7 µg/m³, 3.4× its usual 26.7Rawalpindi, 11 May: 35.3 µg/m³Rawalpindi, 12 May: 34.2 µg/m³Rawalpindi, 13 May: 36.8 µg/m³BahawalpurBahawalpur, 5 May: 28.1 µg/m³Bahawalpur, 6 May: 36.7 µg/m³Bahawalpur, 7 May: 43.4 µg/m³Bahawalpur, 8 May: 65.6 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 32.1Bahawalpur, 9 May: 57.2 µg/m³Bahawalpur, 10 May: 58.9 µg/m³Bahawalpur, 11 May: 70.4 µg/m³Bahawalpur, 12 May: 76.8 µg/m³Bahawalpur, 13 May: 76.9 µg/m³Kotli LoharanKotli Loharan, 5 May: 25.8 µg/m³Kotli Loharan, 6 May: 39.7 µg/m³Kotli Loharan, 7 May: 46.9 µg/m³Kotli Loharan, 8 May: 64.7 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 27.2Kotli Loharan, 9 May: 97.9 µg/m³, 3.6× its usual 27.3Kotli Loharan, 10 May: 133.0 µg/m³, 4.9× its usual 27.3Kotli Loharan, 11 May: no readingKotli Loharan, 12 May: 21.9 µg/m³Kotli Loharan, 13 May: 43.2 µg/m³SialkotSialkot, 5 May: 35.7 µg/m³Sialkot, 6 May: 43.9 µg/m³Sialkot, 7 May: 51.3 µg/m³Sialkot, 8 May: 66.5 µg/m³Sialkot, 9 May: 108.0 µg/m³, 3.0× its usual 36.2Sialkot, 10 May: 147.5 µg/m³, 4.0× its usual 36.7Sialkot, 11 May: 36.7 µg/m³Sialkot, 12 May: 30.4 µg/m³Sialkot, 13 May: 51.4 µg/m³JammuJammu, 5 May: 29.2 µg/m³Jammu, 6 May: 42.9 µg/m³Jammu, 7 May: 48.1 µg/m³Jammu, 8 May: 61.5 µg/m³Jammu, 9 May: 101.5 µg/m³, 2.7× its usual 37.5Jammu, 10 May: 122.5 µg/m³, 3.2× its usual 38.5Jammu, 11 May: 37.6 µg/m³Jammu, 12 May: 38.5 µg/m³Jammu, 13 May: 45.4 µg/m³PeshawarPeshawar, 5 May: 37.7 µg/m³Peshawar, 6 May: 45.4 µg/m³Peshawar, 7 May: 50.7 µg/m³Peshawar, 8 May: 65.9 µg/m³Peshawar, 9 May: 82.4 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 39.5Peshawar, 10 May: 93.2 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 39.5Peshawar, 11 May: 55.7 µg/m³Peshawar, 12 May: 53.3 µg/m³Peshawar, 13 May: 56.8 µg/m³LahoreLahore, 5 May: 36.8 µg/m³Lahore, 6 May: 67.5 µg/m³Lahore, 7 May: 61.3 µg/m³Lahore, 8 May: 57.6 µg/m³Lahore, 9 May: 83.9 µg/m³Lahore, 10 May: 115.0 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 55.1Lahore, 11 May: 43.2 µg/m³Lahore, 12 May: 47.7 µg/m³Lahore, 13 May: 64.4 µg/m³5 May678910111213
Every counted city, in the order the episode reached them, 3 days before to 3 after. Each square is a day, coloured by that day's PM2.5; outlined: at twice the city's usual or more.
Good0–50
Moderate51–100
Sensitive groups101–150
Unhealthy151–200
Very unhealthy201–300
Hazardous301+

Every city it reached

CityDaysHighestUsualAbove usual
MurreePunjab, Pakistan3 97.59 May11.58.5×
Kotli LoharanPunjab, Pakistan3 133.010 May27.34.9×
GujranwalaPunjab, Pakistan3 182.010 May38.34.8×
SialkotPunjab, Pakistan2 147.510 May36.74.0×
RawalpindiPunjab, Pakistan3 91.710 May26.73.4×
IslamabadIslamabad, Pakistan3 97.710 May29.83.3×
JammuJammu and Kashmir, India2 122.510 May38.53.2×
FaisalabadPunjab, Pakistan3 125.010 May43.62.9×
PeshawarKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan2 93.210 May39.52.4×
LahorePunjab, Pakistan1 115.010 May55.12.1×
MultanPunjab, Pakistan2 73.18 May35.22.1×
BahawalpurPunjab, Pakistan1 65.68 May32.12.0×

Daily means in µg/m³, over the days each city counted in this episode. Highest: its highest of those days. Usual: the city's median for the time of year of that day (its days within 21 days of the date, every year, leaving out the week around it). Above usual: its highest day against that, with a usual under 5 µg/m³ taken as 5.

Against other episodes in Pakistan and India

Number 26 of 55 episodes in Pakistan and India since our records began, by cities reached.

Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 55.

Use this page

SmogRank, Pakistan and India, May 2026: 12 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 8 to 10 May 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-05-pakistan-and-india (accessed 4 October 2026).

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You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms.

An episode is a run of days when many cities close to each other (four or more within 350 km on a day, 8 or more in all) each had a daily PM2.5 mean of at least 25 µg/m³ and at least 2 times their usual for that time of year. Found in our own measurements, not picked by hand. How we find episodes. Values are each city's daily mean of its own monitors; causes are the usual kinds for a pattern like this, not a confirmed source.