Overview
- IQAir ranked Lahore the world’s most polluted city with hazardous AQI readings over 400, as several localities in the city hit the maximum index value of 500 and Faisalabad reported even higher figures cited above 1,000.
- Punjab authorities activated emergency measures including anti-smog guns, extensive road washing and water sprinkling, and actions targeting farm fires and smoke-emitting vehicles.
- Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI was 279 on Wednesday in the ‘poor’ range, then deteriorated to 357 on Thursday morning with widespread ‘very poor’ readings and some sites touching ‘severe’ as haze and fog trapped pollutants.
- IIT Kanpur said its cloud-seeding trials in Delhi produced about a 6–10% reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 at 15 specially deployed stations, though insufficient moisture prevented rainfall and broader effects remain limited.
- On-the-ground reporting in Delhi documented water tankers spraying near the Anand Vihar monitor with PM2.5 readings dropping shortly afterward and display boards showing lower values, raising concerns about data accuracy and public transparency.