Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said October 2026 was Lahore’s cleanest month in five years, with an average US Air Quality Index (AQI) of 180.5, versus 204.6 in 2025 and 213 in 2024. She said the index had not exceeded 300 on any day in the past five years, and pollution remained markedly lower even during the final 10 days of October, traditionally a period of severe smog.
She credited an evidence-based strategy and called Punjab Climate Watch, Pakistan’s first such initiative, a milestone for modern environmental monitoring, data-driven decisions and coordination between institutions.
