Air quality comparison · Pakistan, 121 km apart
Faisalabad vs Lahore Air quality index (AQI) today
Faisalabad has cleaner air than Lahore right now: AQI 187 (Unhealthy) against 256 (Very unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Lahore averaged AQI 191 against 251, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Lahore has more tree cover.
Pakistan
AQI 187
Unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 107.2 µg/m³7.1× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 19:00 local
Pakistan
AQI 256
Very unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 181.5 µg/m³12× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 19:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Faisalabad187Lahore256
Head to head
Faisalabad vs Lahore at a glance
Lahore is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Faisalabad on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Faisalabad | Lahore | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 187 (better) | 256 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 107.2 (better) | 181.5 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 251 | 191 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 13.3% | 32.4% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 83.9K | 39.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Faisalabad and Lahore right now?
Faisalabad has cleaner air than Lahore right now: AQI 187 (Unhealthy) against 256 (Very unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Faisalabad's PM2.5 is about 7.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Lahore's PM2.5 is about 12× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
FaisalabadLahore
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Lahore averaged AQI 191 against 251, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Faisalabad0Lahore7
- Average AQI
- Faisalabad251Lahore191
- Worst day, AQI
- Faisalabad387Lahore251
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Faisalabad | Lahore |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 285 | 201 |
| Nov 6 | 175 | 157 |
| Nov 7 | 144 | 135 |
| Nov 8 | 210 | 177 |
| Nov 9 | 232 | 178 |
| Nov 10 | 321 | 235 |
| Nov 11 | 387 | 251 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Faisalabad and Lahore today?
Faisalabad (AQI 187, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Lahore (AQI 256, Very unhealthy): Health alert — everyone should avoid long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Faisalabad
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
- Lahore
- Everyone should avoid long or hard exercise outdoors; sensitive groups, all outdoor exertion.
Windows
Keep them closed.
Masks
- Faisalabad
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
- Lahore
- Wear an N95 if you go out.
Air purifier
- Faisalabad
- Run one.
- Lahore
- Run one on high.
Against everywhere else
How do Faisalabad and Lahore compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Faisalabad's air is cleaner than 4% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Lahore's is cleaner than 2%. Within Pakistan, that is 69% and 51% of its 127 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Faisalabad
- Beats 4%
- Lahore
- Beats 2%
More tree cover than…
- Faisalabad
- Beats 30%
- Lahore
- Beats 73%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Faisalabad
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Lahore
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Faisalabad or Lahore?
Lahore has more tree cover: 32.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.3% around Faisalabad, or about 101,788 trees against 41,783.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Faisalabad | Lahore | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 41.8K | 102K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 83.9K | 39.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 919K kg | 2.2M kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Faisalabad vs Lahore: your questions answered
Is Faisalabad cleaner than Lahore?
On air quality, yes, right now: Faisalabad reads AQI 187 against 256, a gap of 69 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Lahore averaged AQI 191 against 251, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Faisalabad and Lahore today?
In Faisalabad, at AQI 187: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. In Lahore, at AQI 256: Health alert — everyone should avoid long outdoor exertion.
Which has more trees, Faisalabad or Lahore?
Lahore has more tree cover: 32.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.3% around Faisalabad, or about 101,788 trees against 41,783. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Faisalabad and Lahore need?
Faisalabad needs about 83,881 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Lahore about 39,584 to reach 45%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Faisalabad and Lahore measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Faisalabad vs Lahore comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Sep 11, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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