SmogRank / World / Asia / Pakistan / Punjab
Most polluted cities in Punjab, Pakistan
8 measured cities, this year; 8 above the WHO annual guideline. Worst: Faisalabad at 86.1 µg/m³, #2 in the world.
About 21.1M people in these 8 cities breathed unhealthy air on an average day so far this year.
Ranked by people: each city's population times its share of unhealthy days, those with a daily mean over 35.4 µg/m³ (US AQI 101+). That is how many people living there breathed unhealthy air on an average day. Only cities measured at 2 or more places at least 3 km apart are ranked: one monitor shouldn't speak for a whole city. Population is the city itself, not its wider metro area.
- 1Lahorelow-cost sensors 11.2M
- 2Faisalabadlow-cost sensors 3.42M
- 3Gujranwalalow-cost sensors 2.1M
- 4Rawalpindilow-cost sensors 1.76M
- 5Multanlow-cost sensors 1.5M
- 6Sialkotlow-cost sensors 660K
- 7Bahawalpurlow-cost sensors 505K
- 8Murreelow-cost sensors 8.2K
Low-cost sensors: consumer units, counted only in cities with no government-grade monitor; they read close to reference monitors on the whole, but 15 to 25% high in humid air. How we use them.
The US EPA's Air Quality Index for PM2.5 (2024 breakpoints). Show values as: µg/m³ · US AQI · India AQI · China AQI · European AQI · UK DAQI · Canada AQHI+. About the scales
Estimated: cities without a monitor
Punjab cities we can't measure, with model estimates for the last 7 days. Listed by population, not ranked: estimates aren't precise enough to rank. Model estimates from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), adjusted to measured cities nearby where there are any. Adjusted, a single day lands within ×1.5 of what a monitor would read about two times in three; unadjusted, it can be off by half or double. Treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
| City | 7-day estimate |
|---|---|
| Sargodha | ≈ 69 µg/m³ |
| Arifwala | ≈ 55 µg/m³ |
| Chunian | ≈ 58 µg/m³ |
| Jhang Sadr | ≈ 66 µg/m³ |
| Shekhupura | ≈ 73 µg/m³ |
| Gujrat | ≈ 65 µg/m³ |
| Sahiwal | ≈ 60 µg/m³ |
| Sahiwal | ≈ 53 µg/m³ |
| Okara | ≈ 56 µg/m³ |
| Kasur | ≈ 70 µg/m³ |
| Jalalpur Pirwala | ≈ 42 µg/m³ |
| Dera Ghazi Khan | ≈ 46 µg/m³ |
| Pindi Bhattian | ≈ 77 µg/m³ |
| Chak Jhumra | ≈ 76 µg/m³ |
| Bhawana | ≈ 63 µg/m³ |
| Burewala | ≈ 38 µg/m³ |
| Hafizabad | ≈ 70 µg/m³ |
| Chiniot | ≈ 63 µg/m³ |
| Kamoke | ≈ 61 µg/m³ |
| Saddiqabad | ≈ 36 µg/m³ |
| Muridke | ≈ 61 µg/m³ |
| Shahkot | ≈ 73 µg/m³ |
| Bahawalnagar | ≈ 41 µg/m³ |
| Bahawalnagar | ≈ 55 µg/m³ |
| Muzaffargarh | ≈ 48 µg/m³ |
| Gojra | ≈ 62 µg/m³ |
| Qadirpur Ran | ≈ 72 µg/m³ |
| Dajal | ≈ 42 µg/m³ |
| Ahmadpur East | ≈ 39 µg/m³ |
| Jhelum | ≈ 53 µg/m³ |
| Hasilpur | ≈ 36 µg/m³ |
| Kamalia | ≈ 53 µg/m³ |
| Jampur | ≈ 42 µg/m³ |
| Wazirabad | ≈ 65 µg/m³ |
| Layyah | ≈ 53 µg/m³ |
| Shujaabad | ≈ 48 µg/m³ |
| Eminabad | ≈ 61 µg/m³ |
| Jaranwala | ≈ 62 µg/m³ |
| Chishtian | ≈ 40 µg/m³ |
| Harunabad | ≈ 38 µg/m³ |
Bad-air episodes in Punjab
- Western India and Pakistan, September 202619 to 25 September 2026, 7 days59 cities170 µg/m³peak, Gurugram
- North-western India and Pakistan, July 202626 to 29 July 2026, 4 days8 cities185 µg/m³peak, Ropar
- Pakistan and India, May 20268 to 10 May 2026, 3 days12 cities182 µg/m³peak, Gujranwala
- India and Pakistan, October 20258 to 25 October 2025, 18 days178 cities493 µg/m³peak, Jīnd
- North-western India and Pakistan, August 202520 to 22 August 2025, 3 days8 cities75 µg/m³peak, Jhānsi
Times when many cities around here had PM2.5 at twice their usual or more on the same days.
Use this board
SmogRank, most polluted cities in Punjab, Pakistan, PM2.5, this year to 6 Oct 2026, 22:00 UTC, smogrank.com/pk/region/punjab?w=year.
You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms. Raw monitor readings in bulk are published by OpenAQ, under each provider's licence.
Updated 2026-10-06 22:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.