Air quality in Pakistan: where to check and what to do on smog days

Short answer. Pakistan's Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) publishes a daily Air Quality Index for Islamabad ¹, and EPA Punjab publishes daily air quality reports for its province ². On smog days, NDMA advises avoiding outdoor exercise, wearing N95 or KN95 masks outdoors, keeping windows closed and checking the AQI in the NDMA app ³. Fine-particle levels in Pakistani towns average 12.6 times the WHO guideline ⁴⁶.

Where can I check air quality right now?

• Islamabad: Pak-EPA's daily "Air Quality Index of Islamabad" gives SO2, CO, NO2 and PM2.5 for three 8-hour periods and a 24-hour average, with an AQI label such as "Good" or "Unhealthy" ¹. Pak-EPA states that other data presenting Islamabad's air quality is neither verified nor approved by it ¹.
• Punjab: EPA Punjab publishes daily air quality reports ²; its helpline is 1373 ².
• Everywhere: NDMA asks the public to check daily AQI updates in the NDMA mobile app ³.

What do the index levels mean?

Pak-EPA labels each pollutant's AQI, for example 25 "Good" or 153 "Unhealthy", and compares the 24-hour average with Pakistan's National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS): 35 µg/m³ for PM2.5 and 80 µg/m³ for NO2 ¹. Phaenyx found no official page giving the full scale of category limits. For how air quality indexes work, see air quality index explained.

How polluted is the air on average?

Very. For the population-weighted median of Pakistani towns, fine particles (PM2.5) average 63 µg/m³ in 2021-2023 ⁴, 12.6 times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ ⁶. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) averages about 26 µg/m³ as a regional background ⁵, about 2.6 times the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m³ ⁶; a busy street is higher.

What should I do on a smog day?

NDMA's Winter Smog Guidelines ask the public to ³:

• Avoid outdoor activities, especially strenuous exercise, in the early morning and late evening, when smog is usually highest
• Spend more time indoors, especially with asthma, heart or breathing conditions
• Wear N95 or KN95 masks outdoors; avoid cloth masks
• Keep windows and doors closed, and use air purifiers indoors
• Avoid smoking, wood stoves, incense and candles indoors
• See a doctor for difficulty breathing, coughing or eye irritation

Provinces and districts may restrict industry and traffic or close schools during high-smog periods ³. See our guides on a clean-air room, masks for smoke and pollution, pollution episodes and children and polluted air.

Frequently asked questions

When is smog worst in Pakistan?

In winter, according to NDMA, from temperature inversions, industry, traffic and crop burning; levels are usually highest early morning and late evening ³.

Which mask does NDMA recommend?

N95 or KN95; cloth masks offer limited protection ³.

Who publishes official air quality data?

Pak-EPA for Islamabad and the provincial environmental protection agencies, such as EPA Punjab ¹².

Preparedness index: Pakistan ranks joint 55th of 67, 41.5/100 · full ranking