India’s Diwali Fireworks Trigger Smog Concerns in Pakistan’s Lahore
As India celebrated Diwali with grand fireworks and glowing skies, the celebrations cast an unintended shadow across the border. In Pakistan’s Punjab province, especially in Lahore, air quality levels have plummeted, prompting emergency measures by the Maryam Nawaz-led provincial government. According to a report by Dawn, officials believe the worsening smog is caused by a mix of local pollution and emissions drifting in from northern India, aided by slow wind movement.
The Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) stated that winds from Delhi and nearby Indian cities carried pollutants across the border, exacerbating Lahore’s already poor air conditions. By Tuesday morning, Lahore’s Air Quality Index (AQI) surged to 266 second only to New Delhi, which crossed 300, according to global monitoring data.
To combat the rising smog, authorities in Pakistani Punjab rolled out emergency measures. Anti-smog guns and water sprinklers were deployed across major roads, and nine government departments were mobilized for coordinated cleanup operations. Special “smog response squads” have also been conducting raids against industries and individuals contributing to air pollution.
Slow winds of 4–7 km/h have allowed fine pollutant particles to travel deep into cities such as Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sahiwal, and Multan. Lahore’s AQI, which stood at 182 on Monday evening making it the world’s third most polluted city worsened overnight to 266, placing it just behind New Delhi. Data from Swiss monitoring firm IQAir revealed PM2.5 concentrations in Lahore at 187 µg/m³, nearly 37 times higher than the World Health Organization’s safe limit.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, a minister in the Punjab Cabinet, described the worsening air as a “cross-border environmental challenge.” She called on citizens to minimize local emissions while officials continued to assess transboundary pollution. “Winds from Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Haryana will bring more pollution. Lahore’s AQI is likely to stay between 210 and 230,” she wrote on X.
Aurangzeb also announced stricter enforcement measures covering construction sites, limiting traffic on key roads, and penalizing vehicles emitting heavy smoke. Police have arrested 83 individuals for violations, including burning waste and illegal industrial emissions.
On the Indian side, Delhi too is grappling with a hazardous post-Diwali haze. Despite court-imposed restrictions on firecrackers, PM2.5 levels exceeded 248 µg/m³ across several areas. The celebration’s glow may have faded, but the smog it left behind continues to blur skies in both nations, serving as a stark reminder of shared environmental challenges.