Lahore Air Quality on 9 October 2026: AQI 163, Worst at Wagha Border

Short answer: Lahore's official Air Quality Index (AQI) was 163 at 7 pm on Friday 9 October 2026. That falls in the band Punjab's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls "unhealthy for sensitive groups". The worst reading in the city came from the Wagha Border station at 191, and the cleanest from Punjab University at 143.

We read these figures on the EPA's own AQI site, aqi.punjab.gov.pk, at about 7:45 pm on 9 October. The air is clearly better than last Saturday, when Lahore touched 295. But the reading climbed again after sunset, and the smog season has barely started.

Lahore's AQI stood at 163 at 7 pm, unhealthy for sensitive groups

Lahore's AQI was 163 at 7 pm on 9 October 2026, according to Punjab EPA's live site. That is in the 151 to 200 band, "unhealthy for sensitive groups". Children, older people and anyone with asthma or heart disease should cut long outdoor activity.

The AQI is a single number from 0 to 500. It turns several pollutants into one score, so a higher number means dirtier air. The EPA's site says Lahore's figure comes from 10 government monitoring stations across the city, updated every hour.

The afternoon was milder. From 1 pm to 6 pm the reading sat between 130 and 145, in the "moderate" band. It jumped from 136 at 6 pm to 163 at 7 pm.

Wagha Border, Multan Road and Shahdara had the worst air

At 7 pm, Wagha Border had Lahore's highest AQI at 191, followed by Multan Road at 189 and Shahdara at 183. Seven of the 10 stations were in the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" band. Only three were "moderate".

Here is every station at 7 pm. PM2.5 is fine dust that reaches deep into the lungs, PM10 is coarser dust, and NO2 mostly comes from vehicle exhaust.

Two things stand out. Multan Road had by far the highest NO2, at 131.1, which points at traffic. Wagha Border and Shahdara, on the city's eastern and northern edges, had the most fine dust. The EPA page gives no units, so compare stations with each other only.

The air is cleaner than last Saturday, when it hit 295

Lahore's air has improved over the past week. The EPA's seven day record shows a peak of 295 at 9 am on Saturday 3 October, and a low of 125 at 5 am on Wednesday 7 October. Friday's average, up to 7 pm, was about 147.

We worked out the daily figures below from the EPA's hourly readings. The 9 October figures cover midnight to 7 pm.

Saturday 3 October was the bad day: 15 of its 24 hours were above 200, in the full "unhealthy" band. Since then, Lahore has had only three such hours. Wednesday was the cleanest day of the week, with an average of 145.

Don't read too much into one good week, though. Thursday morning touched 201 again. The EPA's own Lahore page says the city's smog season runs from October to February, driven by crop residue burning, vehicle and factory smoke, brick kilns and construction dust.

Mornings and late evenings carry the worst air

Lahore's air was dirtiest between 7 am and 10 am and again after 7 pm on most days this week. The cleanest hours were in the early afternoon, roughly 1 pm to 5 pm. Plan walks, school runs and outdoor work around that pattern where you can.

On 9 October the pattern was textbook. The AQI was 134 at 5 am, rose to 165 by 9 am, fell to 130 at 4 pm and climbed to 163 by 7 pm.

What a reading of 163 means for children, older people and asthma patients

At an AQI between 151 and 200, Punjab EPA's health advice says children, older people and those with asthma or heart and lung disease should avoid long outdoor exertion. They should also keep their inhaler or medicine within reach.

These steps follow the EPA's advice, with a few practical points of our own.

1. Check the live AQI on aqi.punjab.gov.pk before going out. Lahore updates every hour.
2. Move exercise, cricket and long walks to the early afternoon, when the air is usually cleanest.
3. Keep windows shut in the early morning and late evening.
4. Keep inhalers and regular medicine at hand for anyone with asthma or a heart condition.
5. Wear a well-fitting mask on long rides in heavy traffic, such as Multan Road or GT Road.

If the reading goes above 200, the advice gets stricter. Sensitive groups are then told to stay indoors with windows closed. There is more on each band in our advice on protecting children and older parents from smog.

PMD's forecast gives Lahore little rain to clear the air

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) expects mostly dry, hot weather for Lahore over the next week. Its weekly outlook puts isolated storms in upper and northeast Punjab, not Lahore by name, on Friday and Saturday. Central Punjab gets a chance of isolated storms only on Sunday 11 October.

That matters because rain washes dust out of the air. The outlook, valid 9 to 15 October, calls every day from Sunday "mainly dry" across most of the country.

The storms that are coming will mostly hit the Potohar region and the hills, as set out in PMD's forecast for Murree, Rawalpindi and Attock.

If you smell smoke or see a factory chimney pouring black smoke, the EPA takes reports on its 1373 helpline, as explained in reporting a smoking brick kiln or factory in Punjab.

Common questions

What is Lahore's AQI today, 9 October 2026?

It was 163 at 7 pm, "unhealthy for sensitive groups", on Punjab EPA's live site. Earlier, between 1 pm and 6 pm, it was 130 to 145, which is "moderate".

Which area of Lahore has the worst air right now?

Wagha Border, at 191 at 7 pm. Multan Road (189) and Shahdara (183) were next. Punjab University (143) was the cleanest of the 10 stations.

Is Lahore's air better or worse than last week?

Better. The week's peak was 295 on Saturday 3 October. No hour since Thursday morning has gone above 201.

Where can I check the official AQI for Lahore?

On aqi.punjab.gov.pk, run by Punjab EPA. The Lahore page shows each station and updates hourly. We explain how to read it in checking Lahore's air quality on Punjab's official AQI site.

Will schools in Lahore close for smog?

Not on the strength of this reading. A closure comes only by a Punjab government order, and 163 is well below the "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" bands, which start at 301. We explain where such an order appears in checking if Punjab schools are closed for smog.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked at about 7:45 pm PKT on Friday 9 October 2026. We read Lahore's live AQI, the 10 station readings and the seven day trend on Punjab EPA's Lahore AQI page, and the hourly record on the AQI Punjab home page. We worked out the daily highs, lows and averages from those hourly readings. The health advice is from the same site's advisory for each band. The weather outlook is PMD's weekly outlook for 9 to 15 October 2026 on weather.gov.pk. AQI readings change every hour, so check the live page before you plan your day.