Smog returns to Punjab as Multan air quality index hits 434

Smog returned to Lahore and cities across Punjab on Saturday, with Multan recording the province's highest particulate matter reading of the day in figures published by ARY News.

Multan's Air Quality Index stood at 434, a level the outlet described as extremely hazardous to public health. Gujranwala recorded 347 and Lahore, the provincial capital, 294. Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad and Sialkot also stayed above 200, according to ARY News.

NewzTodays reported that severe smog had gripped Lahore and other Punjab cities as the weather changed, but its report did not give city-by-city index figures.

The readings come as temperatures fall and the winter smog season begins in Punjab. ARY News described the pollution as a mix of fog and pollutants, which it linked to low-grade diesel fumes and smoke from seasonal agricultural burning as the air cools.

The same outlet reported that Lahore's air pollution has in the past risen to more than 80 times the level the World Health Organization considers safe.

Neither report named the monitoring stations that produced Saturday's readings, and the figures could not be independently verified. Neither carried a statement from the Punjab Environment Protection Department, a health advisory from the provincial government, or readings from its own monitoring network.

ARY News reported that Punjab has grappled with severe air pollution in earlier winters, with levels rising to what it described as alarming highs and causing serious public health problems. Lahore has been enveloped in smog for days at a stretch in those periods, the outlet said.

Authorities have made repeated attempts to contain smog in the province's cities during recent winters, according to ARY News.