Pakistan blames India as Diwali firecrackers worsens Lahore's air crisis

Pakistan has blamed pollution drifting across the border from India, following Diwali celebrations, for worsening air quality in Lahore, which was ranked the world's most polluted major city for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.

According to British newspaper The Independent, Pakistan's Punjab Environment Protection Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb attributed the deterioration to winds carrying polluted air from India after firecrackers were set off during Diwali celebrations over the weekend.

Lahore recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 263 on Tuesday, placing it in the 'very unhealthy' category, according to Swiss air quality monitoring organisation IQAir.

Concentrations of PM2.5, fine particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the lungs, were recorded at 37.2 times the World Health Organization's annual guideline.

Aurangzeb said air pollution was expected to gradually decline from early afternoon as weather conditions improved and winds changed direction.

The development comes after India's capital, New Delhi, was engulfed in a thick blanket of toxic smog on Monday following widespread fireworks during Diwali celebrations on Sunday evening.

Despite restrictions on firecrackers, residents across Delhi set off fireworks, releasing smoke and fine particulate matter into an already polluted atmosphere.

India's Central Pollution Control Board recorded AQI levels above 400 in several parts of the capital, while some private monitoring platforms reported readings exceeding 2,000 in certain areas on Sunday, indicating hazardous pollution levels.

Visibility also deteriorated across the city as a dense grey haze covered roads and high-rise buildings.

However, Diwali fireworks are not the only source of the region's worsening air pollution. Vehicle emissions, construction dust and smoke from agricultural waste burning are also major contributors to seasonal smog across northern India and Pakistan.

Pakistan had similarly blamed crop-waste burning in India's Punjab province for its toxic air in 2024. Indian weather officials disputed the claim at the time, saying wind patterns indicated that air was moving from Pakistan towards India.

The pollution issue has also become a political dispute within India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has blamed crop-waste burning in Punjab, which is governed by a regional opposition party, for Delhi's deteriorating air quality.

Local media reported a sevenfold increase in farm fires in Punjab on Sunday, coinciding with Diwali celebrations. However, the state's government maintains that incidents of crop-waste burning have declined compared with previous years.