Pakistan's Diwali Pollution Claim Backfires As Its Own Agency Points To 16,714 Farm Fires

A Pakistani air quality body has found no evidence that Diwali fireworks in India caused the smog that choked Lahore this week, undercutting claims made by officials in Pakistan's Punjab province.

According to the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI), satellites detected 16,714 likely crop-residue fires in Pakistan's Punjab between October 1 and November 9. The burning of farm waste was probably behind about 89 percent of the pollution in Lahore and the rest of the province, Dawn reported, citing the assessment.

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The PAQI also looked at whether fireworks set off during Diwali in India on November 8 had worsened air quality in Punjab. It found that the evidence did not back such a link.

Lahore's average PM2.5 concentration, the report said, was eight times the World Health Organization's guideline value.

Minister Had Blamed India

The findings run counter to statements by Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Pakistan's Punjab government. In posts on X on November 9, she said smoke from Diwali fireworks across the border had pushed up Lahore's AQI on November 8. Polluted air from Indian cities such as Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Ferozepur had entered the city through the eastern corridor, she claimed.

Aurangzeb later said the city's AQI had dropped to 208, crediting anti-smog operations under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, better weather and stronger winds. Readings at the Punjab University station, she said, fell from 768 to 181, and at Allama Iqbal Town from 1,063 to 207.

“Air pollution is expected to gradually decrease from early afternoon as weather conditions improve and winds shift direction,” she said.

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Lahore Tops Global Pollution Chart

Earlier this week, Swiss air quality firm IQAir ranked Lahore the most polluted major city in the world, with an AQI of 590. A separate hourly reading on the platform hit 647, which falls in the hazardous range. IQAir put the city's PM2.5 level at 37.2 times the WHO's annual guideline.

Provincial authorities have issued health advisories asking children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with heart or lung conditions to stay indoors. Residents have been told to avoid morning walks and other outdoor activity, keep windows shut and refrain from burning garbage or leaves.

India's Ministry of External Affairs has not responded to the claims.

This is not the first such episode. In 2024, Pakistan blamed stubble burning in Indian Punjab for its smog, but officials from the India Meteorological Department pointed out that winds at the time were blowing from Pakistan towards India, not the other way round.

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