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Lahore was ranked the world’s most polluted city on Sunday, according to Swiss monitoring group IQAir, as thick smog engulfed Pakistan’s second largest city.

IQAir’s reading for Lahore was 237 at noon local time (0700 GMT) and labelled as ‘very unhealthy’, far above the ‘good’ air threshold of 0-50.

Despite the conditions, residents still gathered for Sunday morning cricket.

“We come to the ground for fresh air,” said local resident Mohammad Zubair. “If we have to wear masks here too, where will fresh air come from?“

The Punjab government has taken various steps including deploying anti-smog guns spraying water to curb pollution but it offers temporary relief only.

Plain areas of Pakistan’s province of Punjab, of which Lahore is capital, are prone to thick smog every winter as cold, heavy air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from agricultural fires.

Locals urged a stronger government response such as providing free public transport, and accused authorities of unequal implementation of anti-smog measures across the city.

“Government is spraying [mist through anti-smog guns] but that is happening in posh areas. Here in these areas, in inner Lahore, there are no anti-smog guns, nothing has been done,” said Kashif Butt.

“The government should make transport free [of cost], so that there are less bikes [on roads].”

— With input from Reuters
 

SRIHARIKOTA, India: India launched its heaviest ever communication satellite on Sunday, the latest step in the country’s ambitious space program. 

The CMS-03 satellite blasted off from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh at 5:26 p.m. (1156 GMT).

“Our space sector continues to make us proud!” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants to send an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040.

Weighing about 4,410 kilograms (9,722 pounds), it is “the heaviest communication satellite” launched in the country, the Indian Space Research Organization said Thursday.

The Indian Navy said the satellite would help “secure communication links between ships, aircraft, submarines.”

The CMS-03 satellite was sent into orbit from the towering 43.5 meter (143 foot) tall LVM3-M5 launch vehicle.

It is an upgraded version of the rocket that launched India’s unmanned craft that landed on the Moon in August 2023.

Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.

The country has flexed its spacefaring ambitions in the last decade, with its space program growing considerably in size and momentum.

Shubhanshu Shukla, a test pilot with the Indian Air Force, this year became the second Indian to travel to space and the first to reach the International Space Station — a key step toward India’s own crewed mission planned for 2027.