Punjab Air Quality on 13 October 2026: Nankana Sahib Worst at 147, Lahore Up to 119

Short answer: At 1 pm on Tuesday 13 October 2026, Punjab's official air quality site showed Lahore at AQI 119, up from 83 at the same hour on Monday. The worst city in Punjab was Nankana Sahib at 147. The cleanest was Attock at 66. Most big cities sat in the "moderate" band.

We read these numbers on the Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality site, aqi.punjab.gov.pk, at about 1:30 pm on 13 October. The AQI is a score from 0 to 500. A higher score means dirtier air.

Lahore rose from 83 to 119 in one day

Lahore's AQI was 119 at 1 pm on 13 October 2026. The same hour on 12 October gave 83. That is a rise of 36 points in 24 hours. The site puts 101 to 150 in the "moderate" band.

The jump is a reminder that one clean day does not end the smog season. Our earlier reading for 9 October had Lahore at 163 in the evening, and the city touched 295 on 3 October. You can see that day in our Lahore air quality report for 9 October.

A moderate reading is not a danger for most healthy adults. The EPA's advice for vulnerable groups at this level is to limit outdoor activity and to watch their health.

Nankana Sahib, Rajanpur and Jhang had the worst air

Nankana Sahib had the highest reading in Punjab at 147. Rajanpur followed at 144 and Jhang at 141. Multan was fourth at 136. The EPA site ranks 35 cities, and nine of them were at 122 or higher at 1 pm.

The south and centre of the province were dirtier than the north. Attock (66), Chakwal (67) and Hafizabad (67) were the three cleanest cities.

Here are 10 cities as the site ranked them at 1 pm.

What the AQI bands mean for you

The Punjab EPA site groups the score into seven bands. Up to 50 is good, 51 to 100 is satisfactory, and 101 to 150 is moderate. From 151 the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and from 201 it is unhealthy for everyone.

Sensitive groups means children, older people and anyone with asthma, lung disease or heart disease. At 1 pm on 13 October, no city on the site was above 150. All eight big cities on its front panel were in the moderate or satisfactory bands.

The site's own health advice for vulnerable people includes five points. Keep a nebulizer or other emergency aid ready, check oxygen and blood pressure often, avoid smoking, eat well to support immunity, and see a doctor if breathing problems start.

Five steps to take when the AQI is moderate

At a moderate reading, healthy people can carry on as usual. People in sensitive groups should plan the day around the number, which changes every hour.

1. Open aqi.punjab.gov.pk and read your city's number before you go out.
2. Keep children with asthma and older parents indoors if the number goes past 150.
3. Do hard exercise in the early afternoon, when the reading is usually lower.
4. Keep inhalers and regular medicine within reach.
5. Call a doctor if breathing becomes hard or a cough does not stop.

For the full list of habits by AQI level, see the page on how to protect children and older parents from smog. If you need to know where to look each day, the guide to checking Lahore's air quality live shows the steps. Masks are covered in the page on wearing an N95 or KN95 mask in smog.

What to watch next

We have no official forecast of the AQI itself. The Pakistan Meteorological Department expects rain and wind in upper and central Punjab on 13 and 14 October, and rain can lower dust for a short time. We did not measure that effect, so treat each hourly reading as the facts of the day.

The smog season normally builds from October to February, so the numbers will change. Schools in Punjab are told about closures through official orders, which you can find using the steps in checking if Punjab schools are closed for smog.

Common questions

What is Lahore's AQI today?

Lahore's AQI was 119 at 1 pm on 13 October 2026, in the moderate band. The reading changes every hour, so check aqi.punjab.gov.pk for the latest.

Which city in Punjab has the worst air today?

Nankana Sahib had the highest reading at 147 at 1 pm on 13 October, ahead of Rajanpur (144) and Jhang (141).

Is an AQI of 119 safe?

It is acceptable for most healthy people. Children, older people and those with asthma or heart disease should limit long outdoor activity, as the Punjab EPA site advises for the moderate band.

Which Punjab city has the cleanest air today?

Attock had the lowest reading at 66, in the satisfactory band. Chakwal and Hafizabad were next at 67.

Why did Lahore's AQI change so much in one day?

We cannot say from the data. The site shows a reading of 83 at this hour yesterday and 119 today, but it does not give a cause. Wind, rain, traffic and smoke all change the number.

Where is the official AQI published?

Punjab's Environmental Protection Agency publishes it at aqi.punjab.gov.pk, with a ranking of 35 cities and health advice for each band.

How we verified this

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

Last checked on 13 October 2026, about 1:30 pm Pakistan time. We read the Punjab EPA air quality site for every figure and the band table, and the Pakistan Meteorological Department's daily forecast for the rain outlook. Readings change every hour, so the numbers on the site may differ by the time you read this. We did not read station level data for Nankana Sahib, so we cannot say which monitor caused its high reading.