Smog season: live updates
Is the air safe to breathe today?
Live AQI and smog for Lahore and every major Pakistani city, a 5-day forecast, and a straight answer: go out, exercise, open the windows, send the kids to school?
At the last update (4 Nov, 5:00 pm PKT) the most polluted city was Kasur (AQI 216) and the cleanest Quetta (AQI 72).
Lahore
US AQI now
196
Steady over the next 6 hours
- PM2.5
- 70.1 µg/m³
- PM10
- 74.7 µg/m³
- NO₂
- 94.9 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 79 µg/m³
PM2.5 4.7 × WHO 24-hour guideline (15 µg/m³)
CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo · ~45 km grid
- Go out? Keep it short
- Exercise outdoors? Indoors
- Open windows? Keep closed
- School run? Mask on the way
Pakistan’s cities, ranked right now
All 16 cities| # | City | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KasurPunjab | 216Very unhealthy | Very unhealthy | 84.5 |
| 2 | MultanPunjab | 211Very unhealthy | Very unhealthy | 95.5 |
| 3 | LahorePunjab | 196Unhealthy | Unhealthy | 70.1 |
| 4 | FaisalabadPunjab | 191Unhealthy | Unhealthy | 89.6 |
| 5 | SheikhupuraPunjab | 191Unhealthy | Unhealthy | 57.2 |
| 6 | BahawalpurPunjab | 185Unhealthy | Unhealthy | 63.1 |
| 7 | GujranwalaPunjab | 178Unhealthy | Unhealthy | 53.6 |
| 8 | SialkotPunjab | 170Unhealthy | Unhealthy | 48.9 |
Last build · 4 Nov, 5:00 pm PKT · Modelled (CAMS via Open-Meteo)
How it works
- 1
The data
The CAMS model from Copernicus (via Open-Meteo), hourly, plus monitoring stations where they exist. Source and time on every number.
- 2
What it means
The number is mapped to the US EPA AQI categories and turned into plain advice: who should take care, when, and how much.
- 3
Your decision
Go out, exercise, windows, school: four straight answers, shareable on WhatsApp or delivered as a morning alert.
What you get
Every major city and area
16 cities, 12 areas of Lahore, plus Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar areas.
Hourly and 5-day
The last 24 hours, the next 48, and a 5-day forecast with daily highs.
A plain verdict
Go out? Exercise? Windows? School run? Based on US EPA AQI guidance.
Share on WhatsApp
Send today’s AQI and advice to the family group in one tap.
Morning alert
An email at 6:30 am on bad-air days (or every day), double opt-in.
English and Urdu
Every page in both, with Nastaliq for Urdu.
The AQI scale in one look
- 0–50Good
- 51–100Moderate
- 101–150Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- 151–200Unhealthy
- 201–300Very unhealthy
- 301–500Hazardous
Why November chokes Punjab
Cold nights, still air, burning crop residue, traffic, brick kilns and industry: together they make the smog that sits over Punjab from November to January.
Smog season explainedQuestions people ask
What is the AQI in Lahore today?
Open the Lahore page: it shows the live US AQI and PM2.5, the trend for the next hours, the 5-day forecast and whether it is a day to go out, exercise, open windows or send children to school.
Where does Saans get its data?
From the CAMS air-quality forecast of the EU’s Copernicus programme, served by the free Open-Meteo API (modelled, about 45 km grid), plus monitoring-station readings from the World Air Quality Index project where a station is nearby. Every number shows its source and time.
Why does Saans show a different number from another app?
Apps differ in averaging (24-hour vs one-hour), in whether they use a model or a single station, and in update time. Saans uses the US EPA AQI with 24-hour particle averages and labels modelled values.
Is Saans free?
Yes. There are no accounts and no ads. The optional morning email alert is free too.
Does Saans work in Urdu?
Yes: every city and area page, the ranking, the smog explainer, the advisories and the buying guides are in Urdu as well.
Morning email alert
Today’s forecast and plain advice at 6:30 am. Free, confirmed by email, one-click unsubscribe.