Lahore, Karachi make it to list of top 5 cities with worst air quality today

Karachi and Lahore were listed today among the top five cities with the worse air quality, data from IQAir showed Monday.

Lahore ranked fifth, while Karachi was one place below Lahore on number 4, placed right behind Bangladesh's Dhaka, Kyrgyztan's Bishkek, and India's New Delhi.

Read more: Lahore third-most polluted city in the world in latest ranking

The United States Environmental Protection Agency regards air quality as satisfactory if the AQI is under 50. Meanwhile, Karachi recorded a particulate matter (PM) rating of 216, considered "very unhealthy".

Lahore's air quality reported an "unhealthy" 200.

Last month, to reduce the smog, the provincial disaster management authority in Punjab sealed 613 brick kilns, 2,148 industries and impounded 8,579 vehicles.

Read more: Lahore ranks world’s most polluted city yet again, with 'hazardous' air quality

PDMA had arrested 478 people who violated the guidelines issued by the provincial government to protect the environment, according to a report by the authority from November 22.