Pakistan continues to grapple with alarming levels of pollution, ranking among the countries with the poorest air quality globally. According to IQAir, Pakistan maintained its position with the second-worst air quality in 2023, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 73.7 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³). PM2.5 refers to lung-damaging airborne particles, ideally not exceeding 5μg/m³ as per the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The report highlights Islamabad’s highest recorded PM2.5 levels in history, reaching 42.4μg/m³, while Lahore, previously labeled the world’s most polluted city in March 2023, witnessed a significant increase, surpassing 99.5µg/m³. In November of the same year, Lahore’s monthly average PM2.5 level spiked at 251µg/m³, prompting calls for a “smog emergency” declaration by the government. The report emphasizes that every Pakistani city included recorded concentrations above 30µg/m³, six times higher than the WHO’s recommended annual PM2.5 guideline, indicating a pressing need for urgent action to address the country’s air quality crisis.