What happened
Lahore and several other districts across Punjab continued to record “Unhealthy” air quality on Sunday 8 February 2026, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan, which cited data from the provincial Environment Protection Agency and international monitoring groups.
APP reported that Lahore’s Air Quality Index averaged between 185 and 215 on Saturday morning, and that a monitoring hotspot, PGSHF Lahore, peaked at 169 by midday on Sunday. The agency described the provincial capital and nearby districts as still grappling with poor air.
Why it matters
Poor winter air is a recurring public health problem in Punjab, where cold, still conditions and temperature inversions trap vehicle emissions, industrial smoke and crop-residue burning close to the ground. The province’s environmental agency routinely issues advisories and, in past seasons, has ordered school closures and restrictions on construction and certain vehicles when readings spike.
The reported readings keep Lahore in the “Unhealthy” band, a level at which officials typically advise residents with heart or lung conditions, older people and children to limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
What is still uncertain
The APP account mixes readings from different times and locations — an average taken on Saturday morning and a single hotspot reading at midday on Sunday — so it does not establish a single, consistent index value for the day. It also does not say what measures, if any, the Punjab government planned in response to the readings, or whether the levels were expected to ease in the coming days.
Sources & reporting notes
This article is a synthesis of published reporting, not eyewitness coverage. Sources were reviewed on 8 February 2026.
- Associated Press of Pakistan — "Lahore average AQI reported at 185-215"8 February 2026 · Environment Protection Agency and international monitoring data on Lahore's air quality index and the PGSHF monitoring hotspot.
.jpg){kind=link}