Polluted outdoor air affects millions of people living in densely populated cities. In 2025, Pakistan ranked as the world’s most polluted country for air quality, with cities and regions regularly experiencing unhealthy to very unhealthy levels of pollution. Lahore, one of the country’s largest urban centers, was ranked the eighth most polluted city in the world, according to the 2025 World Air Quality Report.
For Abid Omar, an environmental advocate and founder of the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI), the fight for cleaner air has centered on making pollution visible, measurable, and impossible to ignore. Over the past decade, his work has helped establish over 300 air quality monitors across Pakistan. These monitors have strengthened public access to pollution data and raised awareness of the health risks associated with poor air quality.
Pakistan's environmental history, the growth of grassroots activism, and the expansion of air quality monitoring show how transparency and public engagement can drive meaningful progress toward cleaner air.
How Pakistan’s air quality shaped a movement
Seasonal smog is a recurring environmental challenge in Pakistan, particularly in Lahore, where winter pollution can reduce visibility, disrupt transportation, and expose residents to dangerous levels of airborne pollutants.
“During the smog season, brick kilns are being shut down and polluting industrial units are being shut down” to limit ongoing pollution in the country, Abid said.
During the transition into colder months, crop residue and biomass burning adds to pollution from year-round sources such as transportation, industry, and waste burning, Calm winds and temperature inversion then trap these pollutants near the ground, leading to frequent unhealthy air quality events. Despite the visible effects, limited access to publicly available, real-time air quality data has made it difficult for residents to understand the severity of the problem.
Abid Omar recognized that public awareness was a critical first step toward change. Having experienced how air quality information was communicated in Beijing, he saw an opportunity to bring similar transparency to Pakistan.
“10 years ago, the wake-up moment for me was this access to air quality data. At that time, courtesy of the US Embassy in Beijing, they would put out an hourly tweet of air quality,” Abid said.
Abid helped spotlight air pollution as a public health and environmental policy issue within Pakistan. Using AirVisual monitoring and air quality mapping, Abid founded the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative to raise air quality awareness and build public support for clean air policies.
Building a network one monitor at a time
The Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) emerged from this need for reliable, publicly accessible air quality information. Abid began building a network of citizen-operated air quality monitors across major Pakistani cities, including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Islamabad.
“My mission to solve air pollution in Pakistan through data, research, and advocacy has become, in many ways, a passion project, but it also has already made a measurable impact.” Abid said.
“My mission to solve air pollution in Pakistan through data, research and advocacy has become in many ways a passion project, but it also has already made a measurable impact.”
- Abid Omar
By installing AirVisual monitors, PAQI helped fill gaps in air quality reporting and enabled people to follow pollution levels through online and mobile platforms. These measurements offered a clearer picture of how air quality changed throughout the day and across seasons, while helping residents recognize when conditions posed a health risk.
The initiative's impact extended beyond public awareness. In 2017, historical monitoring data collected through Abid's AirVisual monitor network was submitted as supplementary evidence during proceedings before the Lahore High Court concerning the government's response to air pollution. The case helped demonstrate how community-collected data could support policy changes and encourage stronger public health measures.
“It took nine years from the first public real-time data available to have the first reliable real-time air quality data being provided by the government. Which in 2017, was mandated by a judgment of the Lahore High Court,” Abid said.
In 2023, Pakistan’s National Clean Air Policy (NCAP) was approved by the Federal Cabinet, marking an important step towards clean air. The policy aims to reduce regional PM2.5 levels and common sources of air pollutants by 2030, including industrial smoke, transportation emissions, and waste burning (1).
PAQI’s air quality awareness continues to draw support from organizations and global leaders. Through funding from The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), PAQI has installed 70 additional air quality monitors across Pakistan, bringing valuable air quality data to more communities and strengthening the foundation for clean air support.
How policies and regulations are shifting in Pakistan
As air conscious living increases in Pakistan, new air quality initiatives are forming to reinforce environmental policies and reduce harmful pollutant emissions, such as the Vehicular Emission Control Action Plan and the Punjab Clean Air Program.
Introduced in 2025, the Vehicular Emission Control Action Plan (VECAP) was created by the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency to address rising air pollution and smog levels. Developed in coordination with the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration, Islamabad Transport Authority, and Traffic Police, the initiative focuses on strengthening vehicle emissions enforcement and transitioning toward cleaner fuels. The plan specifically targets pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and PM2.5, which are associated with vehicle exhaust emissions (2).
Approved in 2025, the Punjab Clean Air Program targets regional air quality concerns and addresses them through increased monitoring and maintained regulations within specific communities (3). With $300 million in financing from the World Bank, the program aims to achieve reduced PM2.5 concentrations and sustainable transportation routes by 2030.
The Punjab Clean Air Program further refines the work started by the Punjab Green Development Program – a government initiative aimed at improving greater environmental conditions and climate change.
In 2025, government officials in Punjab, Pakistan, announced the installation of 30 air quality monitoring stations, contributing to the expansion of air data networks. (4). Supported by the Punjab Green Development Program, Punjab officials plan to continue installing up to 100 air quality stations, with hourly alerts and pollutant measurements for public awareness. Alongside the air quality monitors, the program will also contribute to the introduction of 600 electric buses into the public transportation system.
With the expansion of air quality networks across various initiatives, Punjab government officials are focusing on setting up and implementing regulatory-grade monitors, specifically designed for PM2.5 measurements and standardized data. However, the greater Pakistan region does not have a government operated nationwide air quality network, leading to a pollutant awareness gap for communities with no real-time data access.
Greater collaboration between federal and provincial environmental agencies could help standardize monitoring methods, improve public access to pollution data, and support more consistent enforcement of emissions regulations. Expanding transparent, publicly accessible air quality information would also allow communities to better understand local pollution risks while helping policymakers evaluate the effectiveness of environmental interventions.
A new era for air quality monitoring
In recent years, PAQI has expanded the AirVisual mapping network through the installation of air quality monitors across the Hindu Kush mountainous regions, such as Skardu and Gilgit. Provided by IQAir, these monitors are paving the way for new communities to experience air quality awareness and data collection. Abid plans to continue his air mapping work by reaching regions with limited air quality data and expanding the types of airborne pollutants measured.
“My next step for that monitoring is that we also want to go beyond just PM2.5. We want to go into multi-pollutant monitoring, so I'm very keen on getting data on black carbon,” Abid said.
Comprehensive air quality data can help paint a clearer picture of pollutant activity across regions, allowing new pathways to reform government policies and environmental laws. With innovative AirVisual mapping, Abid created a community surrounding newfound air quality monitoring and awareness. By forming an air-conscious community, collective action can help enact widespread air quality improvements.
Building on this monitoring network, PAQI is also researching where pollution comes from. Its emissions inventories examine sources such as transportation, industry, and waste burning, helping identify opportunities for cleaner air. Through Hawanama and its emissions inventory platform, PAQI is making air quality information and research more accessible, supporting communities, researchers, and policymakers as they work toward practical solutions (5)(6).
According to Abid, the next phase of this movement depends on maintaining reliable equipment, improving data quality, and encouraging more communities to participate. By bringing together citizens, environmental organizations, and public institutions, Pakistan can build a stronger foundation for long-term monitoring and evidence-based action.
How data and transparency are transforming Pakistan
Air quality maps and real-time reporting have evolved considerably in Pakistan, increasing people’s awareness of air quality and various airborne pollutants. With online platforms and new pollutant monitors, air quality monitoring has never been more accessible.
Digital platforms, such as IQAir's AirVisual map, help visualize historic and real-time air quality data, combining community-based monitoring and accurate data collection. From dust storms to wildfire smoke, air quality events are continuously captured on the AirVisual map for global transparency through localized monitoring.
Data from every AirVisual Indoor and Outdoor Monitor, local air quality data can be pooled, compared across wider regions and countries, and analyzed for shifting trends. AirVisual monitors measure a wide range of air quality factors, including PM2.5, temperature, CO2, humidity, and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) to capture comprehensive pollutant and airborne chemical activity.
Transparency also strengthens accountability. Publicly available data can help journalists communicate the severity of pollution, researchers investigate its sources, and policymakers assess whether interventions are making a difference. Laying the foundation in air quality data and pollutant monitoring is an important first step on the path towards cleaner air. However, long-term improvement depends on systematic changes and policy reform.
Pathways to cleaner air quality
Although expanded monitoring has improved awareness, lasting progress requires reducing pollution at its sources. According to the 2025 World Air Quality Report, Pakistan ranked as the most air polluted country in the world, yet average AQI measurements were lower compared to previous years. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated action across government, industry, and local communities.
What governments and global leaders can do
Global leaders and government systems have the power to enact policy reformation and support public environmental awareness through impactful actions, such as:
- Creating standardized government air quality reporting and monitoring
- Reviewing environmental laws and air pollution policies
- Enforcing emissions standards for vehicles and industrial facilities
- Supporting alternatives to open waste burning and crop residue burning
- Increasing public transportation routes
- Supporting clean air funding and local organizations
- Initiating clean air campaigns and promoting public awareness
- Employing air quality monitors across government offices and meeting spaces
- Utilizing air filtration systems in shared government buildings in shared government buildings
What local organizations and communities can do
Local organizations and community members can create environmental change through improved filtration systems, increased air quality awareness tactics, and public campaigning, such as:
- Funding clean air initiatives
- Installing air quality monitors across neighborhoods and major cities
- Utilizing ultrafine air filtration in shared spaces such as community buildings, libraries, and family homes
- Supporting clean air campaigns and environmental community events
- Incorporating air quality mapping and monitoring into educational lesson plans
- Using public transportation
Conclusion
A decade of air quality monitoring in Pakistan demonstrates how access to information can help turn environmental concern into collective action. Through the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative, Abid Omar has helped increase the visibility of air pollution, raise public awareness, and show how citizen-generated data can contribute to policy discussions and legal accountability.
The challenge ahead is to translate that awareness into measurable improvements in the air people breathe. More monitoring alone cannot eliminate pollution, but reliable data can help communities identify problems, hold institutions accountable, and evaluate solutions.
Sustained collaboration between citizens, scientists, and policymakers will be essential to turning greater transparency into healthier communities and cleaner air.
