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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani city of Lahore ranked the second-worst country globally for air quality on Monday, with pollution hitting levels reported as 31 times the WHO’s annual PM2.5 guideline value, according to global monitoring data, as the provincial government launched anti-smog operations ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali.

Punjab province, and its capital Lahore, face a recurring “smog season” from October to February, driven by crop-residue burning, vehicular and industrial emissions, and stagnant winter weather conditions. The hazy blanket has previously pushed the Air Quality Index (AQI) into hazardous levels of above 300 in Lahore in November 2024, forcing school and office closures and reduced construction activity. 

On Sunday, the Punjab Smog Monitoring Center forecast Lahore’s AQI between 210 and 230 and cautioned that morning and night hours would see the worst pollution, with a slight improvement expected between 1-5pm. On Monday morning, Pakistan ranked the second worst country globally for air quality, after Delhi, data from the Swiss air-quality monitoring organization, IQAir, revealed. The city had a PM2.5 concentration 31.1 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value.

Winds of 4–7 km/h from the east and west could carry pollution from the Indian cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana and Haryana toward cities in Pakistani Punjab including Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Multan, the Punjab government advisory said.

“Every citizen’s role in preventing and reducing smog becomes a cause of major change and success,” Senior Provincial Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said, appealing for adherence to environmental SOPs.

The advisory urged residents to wear masks, and said children, older people and those with respiratory illness should stay indoors due to low winds and no rain keeping particles suspended.

Municipal agencies including Water and Sanitation Agency, Lahore Development Authority and district and municipal bodies were directed to conduct water sprinkling, prevent burning of garbage and crop residue and ensure construction sites and material-carrying vehicles are covered. 

Punjab has also begun targeted “anti-smog gun” operations this season after trial runs, part of a wider push that includes new enforcement rules and traffic measures to cut emissions in the provincial capital. 

The smog crisis in Lahore, similar to the situation in India’s capital Delhi, tends to worsen during cooler months due to temperature inversion trapping pollution closer to the ground.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on Sunday launched the country’s first Hyperspectral Satellite (HS-1) from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, state-run Radio Pakistan reported, marking what officials described as a major leap in national space and climate-monitoring capability.

The HS-1 mission will capture hundreds of spectral bands across visible and infrared wavelengths to help detect changes in soil, vegetation, water bodies and man-made structures with far greater precision than conventional imaging satellites. Officials say the technology will be applied to improve agricultural productivity, monitor environmental degradation and strengthen early-warning systems for floods and landslides.

“Pakistan has achieved a major milestone in its space program with the successful launch of its first Hyperspectral Satellite, HS-1, from the Chinese Satellite Launch Center,” Radio Pakistan reported. 

“The satellite is expected to significantly enhance national capacities in areas such as precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, urban planning, and disaster management. Its high-resolution data will support improved resource management and strengthen Pakistan’s resilience to climate-related challenges.”

SUPARCO, the national space agency, said last week the satellite will provide “detailed insights into crop health, soil moisture and irrigation patterns, enhancing yield estimation by 15–20 percent and contributing significantly to food security.” 

The agency added that HS-1’s sensors would also enable mapping of infrastructure and tracking of urban expansion to support sustainable city planning and land-use management.

“The mission aligns with the National Space Policy and SUPARCO’s Vision 2047, which aim to position Pakistan at the forefront of space technology and innovation for sustainable national development,” the space agency added. 

The new satellite will join Pakistan’s growing remote-sensing fleet, which includes PRSS-1 launched in 2018 and two Earth-observation satellites— EO-1 and KS-1— placed in orbit earlier this year. 

Officials said integrating HS-1 will expand Pakistan’s capacity for disaster assessment, water-resource modelling and climate-change monitoring, while deepening collaboration with China in the civilian space sector.