Air quality comparison · Pakistan, 380 km apart
Lahore vs Peshawar Air quality index (AQI) today
Peshawar has cleaner air than Lahore right now: AQI 220 (Very unhealthy) against 256 (Very unhealthy).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Peshawar averaged AQI 110 against 191, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Lahore has more tree cover.
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
Pakistan
AQI 220
Very unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 145 µg/m³9.7× 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.
Lahore256Peshawar220
Head to head
Lahore vs Peshawar at a glance
Peshawar is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Lahore on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Lahore | Peshawar | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 256 | 220 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 181.5 | 145 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 191 | 110 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 32.4% (better) | 3.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 39.6K (better) | 129K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Lahore and Peshawar right now?
Peshawar has cleaner air than Lahore right now: AQI 220 (Very unhealthy) against 256 (Very unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Lahore's PM2.5 is about 12× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Peshawar's PM2.5 is about 9.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
LahorePeshawar
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).
Lahore: Ground station · CERP Office, 700 m away · median of 35 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Hawanama, Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI پاکی), The Urban Unit.
Peshawar: Ground station · Ashrafia Colony, 2.1 km away · median of 8 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Hawanama, The Urban Unit, Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI پاکی).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Peshawar averaged AQI 110 against 191, 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
- Lahore0Peshawar7
- Average AQI
- Lahore191Peshawar110
- Worst day, AQI
- Lahore251Peshawar141
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Lahore | Peshawar |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 201 | 95 |
| Nov 6 | 157 | 94 |
| Nov 7 | 135 | 101 |
| Nov 8 | 177 | 110 |
| Nov 9 | 178 | 141 |
| Nov 10 | 235 | 120 |
| Nov 11 | 251 | 106 |
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 Lahore and Peshawar today?
Health alert — everyone should avoid long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Very unhealthy), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Everyone should avoid long or hard exercise outdoors; sensitive groups, all outdoor exertion.
Windows
Keep them closed.
Masks
Wear an N95 if you go out.
Air purifier
Run one on high.
Against everywhere else
How do Lahore and Peshawar compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Lahore's air is cleaner than 2% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Peshawar's is cleaner than 2%. Within Pakistan, that is 51% and 57% of its 127 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Lahore
- Beats 2%
- Peshawar
- Beats 2%
More tree cover than…
- Lahore
- Beats 73%
- Peshawar
- Beats 8%
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.
Lahore
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Peshawar
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Lahore or Peshawar?
Lahore has more tree cover: 32.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 3.8% around Peshawar, or about 101,788 trees against 11,938.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Lahore | Peshawar | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 102K (better) | 11.9K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 39.6K (better) | 129K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.2M kg (better) | 263K kg |
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
Lahore vs Peshawar: your questions answered
Is Peshawar cleaner than Lahore?
On air quality, yes, right now: Peshawar reads AQI 220 against 256, a gap of 36 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Peshawar averaged AQI 110 against 191, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Lahore and Peshawar today?
The advice is the same for both today. Health alert — everyone should avoid long outdoor exertion. Lahore reads AQI 256 and Peshawar reads AQI 220.
Which has more trees, Lahore or Peshawar?
Lahore has more tree cover: 32.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 3.8% around Peshawar, or about 101,788 trees against 11,938. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Lahore and Peshawar need?
Lahore needs about 39,584 more to reach its canopy target of 45%, and Peshawar about 129,434 to reach 45%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Lahore and Peshawar 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 Lahore vs Peshawar 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 8, 2026 and Sep 14, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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