Overview
- Lahore again ranked first on IQAir’s global list, with hazardous AQI readings reported on Sunday and local hotspots in Punjab logging extreme values, including Sheikhupura at 500 and several Lahore sites exceeding 500.
- Punjab (Pakistan) activated a smog emergency plan with 24/7 enforcement, drone monitoring of kilns and factories, bans on open burning, and deployment of anti-smog guns, as the PDMA warned of heightened smog risk into mid-December.
- Delhi’s overall AQI deteriorated to 321 in the ‘very poor’ range on Sunday, with stations like Anand Vihar touching ‘severe’ levels around 421, even as authorities pursued GRAP curbs and discussed cloud seeding for potential artificial rain.
- A large LocalCircles survey of roughly 44,000 responses found three in four Delhi-NCR households reporting pollution-related health impacts, with 44% limiting outdoor exposure and many seeking medical consultations.
- Attribution remains contested: Pakistani experts cite cross-border smoke from Indian Punjab and Haryana, while Indian data show an unusually steep drop in recorded stubble-burning incidents this season, with meteorology driving day-to-day swings in AQI.