Lahore had an air quality ranking of 398, well over the hazardous level of 300, according to IQAir, the technology company that operates the AirVisual monitoring platform.
According to details, the worst quality of air was recorded in Gulberg as AQI reached 728, followed by Kot Lakhpat 652, Model Town 572, Thokar Niaz Baig 523 and DHA Phase 8 at 449.
Residents choking in acrid smog pleaded with officials to take action. Air pollution has worsened in Pakistan in recent years, as a mixture of low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burn off, and colder winter temperatures coalesce into stagnant clouds of smog.
Lahore, a bustling megacity of more than 11 million people in Punjab province near the border with India, consistently ranks among the worst cities in the world for air pollution.
In recent years residents have built their own air purifiers and taken out lawsuits against government officials in desperate bids to clean the air -- but authorities have been slow to act, blaming the smog on India or claiming the figures are exaggerated.
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