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Lahore's air today: where the smoke is coming from

Lahore's smoke report

Loading today's air reading…

The air over Lahore is almost still right now (under 3 km/h, 30 October, 07:45 PKT), so smoke from the city's own sources and from nearby fires can build up instead of blowing away. 1,488 fires were seen within 250 km in the 24 hours to 30 October, 03:48 PKT.

Ranks among the cities with pages here that have any of each: #1 has the most.

Map of the fires around the city, last 24 hours

Each dot is one fire a NASA satellite saw. The wind is calm, so there is no upwind side: smoke from fires on every side can drift in and settle over the city. Red dots are likely crop burning, brown dots other fires. Tap a dot for the village and the time.

north: 5252north-east: 7575east: 8080south-east: 186186south: 162162south-west: 452452west: 246246north-west: 235235NESWcalm

Fires within 250 km in the last 24 hours, by direction. The wind is calm, so no side is upwind. Tap a direction to pick out its fires on the map.

What satellites see around Lahore

What satellites and surveys see around the city. Each is a different measure, so they can't be added up into shares of the air.

Fires around Lahore in the last 30 days

Fires around Lahore were at their highest on the latest day, 29 October, with 1,511 fire spots within 250 km, 136 of them within 50 km.

30 September: no data30 September1 October: 157 · 332 October: 222 · 503 October: 198 · 534 October: 235 · 455 October: 213 · 396 October: 345 · 567 October: 264 · 388 October: 228 · 259 October: 307 · 3510 October: 362 · 4911 October: 9 · 212 October: 163 · 6013 October: 159 · 5914 October: 252 · 5315 October: 52 · 015 October16 October: 182 · 1017 October: 501 · 7018 October: 908 · 17919 October: 693 · 11620 October: 404 · 6121 October: 657 · 8822 October: 746 · 8723 October: 989 · 8424 October: 581 · 7225 October: 777 · 6526 October: 829 · 7127 October: 1,019 · 9728 October: 1,271 · 9829 October: 1,511 · 13629 October1,511

within 250 km   within 50 km

14,234fire spots within 250 km in the last 29 days
1,831of them within 50 km
96%of the last 7 days' fires within 250 km were on farmland, the pattern of crop-residue burning

A fire spot is one fire seen on a day, however many satellites saw it (Pakistan-time days). The archive runs every day from 1 October 2026; before that it holds only the October-November seasons.

NO₂ pollution in Lahore: traffic, industry and power plants

Over the last 14 days the air over Lahore held 4.07 times the region's usual level of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), #4 of 58 cities.

1×30 September: 2.77×1 October: 2.8×2 October: 2.94×5 October: 3.03×8 October: 3.32×11 October: 3.09×13 October: 3.23×16 October: 3.15×19 October: 3.41×22 October: 3.42×25 October: 3.97×27 October: 3.87×28 October: 4.07×30 September28 October

The strongest NO₂ peak within 35 km was 4.78 times the usual level, in the city itself, the pattern of a city's traffic.

From Sentinel-5P's TROPOMI instrument via NASA's GIBS tiles, which publish NO₂ as colour bands: a level here is good to about one band. NO₂ in big cities comes mostly from vehicle engines; peaks are named after what is nearby, which suggests a source but doesn't measure one. NO₂ window 15 October to 28 October 2026.

Brick kilns

1,020 brick kilns stand within 50 km of Lahore. 887 are in Pakistan and 133 in India. Their survey puts the smoke from the 730 it has figures for at about 180 tonnes of PM2.5 a day in the firing season.

15 brick kilns in one patch, near Kasur, 48 km south of the centre. Each oval is a kiln.
Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics
16%are the cleaner zigzag kind
#6 of 34 citiesby brick kilns within 50 km, among the cities the kiln surveys cover

Landfills

Satellites and aircraft have measured methane rising from Lakho Der Landfill, 11 km from the centre, 19 times, about 1,559 kg an hour. That puts it #8 of the 58 measured landfills in Pakistan and India.

Lakho Der Landfill from above, 11 km north-east of the centre
Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics
19methane plumes measured
22 March 2026last measured
4landfills and dump sites mapped within 50 km

Rank among the 58 landfill records with a measured rate in Carbon Mapper's data for Pakistan and India (this extract covers only these two countries). Rates are Carbon Mapper's automatic per-plume estimates; landfill methane also carries the smell and smoke of burning rubbish.

Power plants and industry

7 fossil-fuel power plants and 215 industrial areas lie within 50 km of Lahore. The largest, Bhikki Power Plant, can generate 1,231 MW.

Bhikki Power Plant from above, 42 km west of the centre
Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics
Bhikki Power Plant gas, 42 km1,231 MW
Sapphire Electric Power Plant gas, 37 km235 MW
Halmore Power gas, 46 km225 MW
Atlas Power Plant oil, 28 km214 MW

1 always-hot site that NASA's satellites saw burning on 20 or more days in 2025: Thatta Qureshian (26)

Within 50 km of the city centre, on either side of the border. These are lists of what is there, not measures of how much each adds to the air.

Every mapped source within 50 km of Lahore

Tap a layer to hide it, or a site for its name.

Brick-kiln surveys, OpenStreetMap, Carbon Mapper and NASA FIRMS, on either side of the border. These map what is there, not how much each adds to the air. /sites/ · Site lists built 26 October 2026.

Fires around Lahore this season compared with past years

Fire spots within 250 km of Lahore from 1 October to 29 October, each year. These count Suomi NPP alone, so every year is measured by the same instrument and the years compare fairly (the 30-day chart above counts all five satellites, three VIIRS and two MODIS, so its numbers are higher).

2019: 16,65516,65520192020: 23,61023,61020202021: 14,27214,27220212022: 14,40714,40720222023: 7,2677,26720232024: 6,7546,75420242025: 6,0166,01620252026: 4,7744,774*2026 (so far)

* 2026: 1 day without Suomi NPP data: a floor

Lahore against the other cities

Each strip holds the cities with pages here that have any of it, the most on the left; the red mark is Lahore. They are different measures, so a high rank on one isn't a larger share of the air than a high rank on another.

Fire spots within 250 km, last 24 hours (1,488)#3 of 57
Fire spots within 250 km, last 30 days (14,234)#3 of 58
NO₂, times the usual level (14 days) (4.07×)#4 of 58
Brick kilns within 50 km (1,020)#6 of 34
Fossil-fuel power plants within 50 km (7)#4 of 35
Landfill methane within 50 km (1,559 kg/h)#12 of 34
Industrial areas within 50 km (215)#16 of 58
Always-hot sites within 50 km (1)#13 of 23

All the rankings: city rankings

Send this to someone in Lahore

Pasted into WhatsApp or X, the link shows this map of the fires and the wind, redrawn every few hours.

Lahore: the last 24 hours of fires within 250 km and the wind

Lahore air today: where the smoke is coming from
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All the numbers

Every table behind this page.

Fires within 250 km by direction, last 24 hours
From theFires
north52
north-east75
east80
south-east186
south162
south-west452
west246
north-west235
Fires within 250 km in the last 7 days
DistrictProvince or stateCountryDistanceFiresOn farmland
OkaraPunjabPakistan113 km1,01895%
Nankana SahibPunjabPakistan64 km62997%
JhangPunjabPakistan203 km50699%
HafizabadPunjabPakistan95 km45398%
PakpattanPunjabPakistan170 km43294%
GujranwalaPunjabPakistan74 km40889%
Tarn TaranPunjabIndia57 km39997%
ShekhupuraPunjabPakistan44 km34794%
BahawalnagarPunjabPakistan204 km33896%
FaisalabadPunjabPakistan104 km26597%
Fires around Lahore this season compared with past years
SeasonFire spots
201916,655
202023,610
202114,272
202214,407
20237,267
20246,754
20256,016
2026 (so far)4,774 (1 day without Suomi NPP data: a floor)
Landfill methane records
SiteMethanePlumes seenLast seenRank
Lakho Der Landfill (Lahore, Pakistan, 11 km)1,559 kg/h1922 March 20268 of 58

Rank among the 58 landfill records with a measured rate in Carbon Mapper's data for Pakistan and India (this extract covers only these two countries). Rates are Carbon Mapper's automatic per-plume estimates; landfill methane also carries the smell and smoke of burning rubbish.

Every measure and rank

Where Lahore stands among the 58 cities with pages here, on each measure. They are different measures, so a high rank on one isn't a larger share of the air than a high rank on another.

MeasureLahoreRank
Fire spots within 250 km, last 30 days14,2343 of 58
NO₂, times the usual level (14 days)4.07×4 of 58
Landfill methane within 50 km1,559 kg/h12 of 34
Measured plant CO₂ within 50 kmnone measured–
Brick kilns within 50 km1,0206 of 34
Industrial areas within 50 km21516 of 58
Always-hot sites within 50 km113 of 23
Ranks on today's fires

Lahore's place among the cities, on the numbers that change with each satellite pass.

  • Fire spots upwind, last 24 hours: calm wind, no upwind direction
  • Fire spots within 250 km, last 24 hours: 3 of 57
  • Fire spots within 250 km, last 7 days: 3 of 58

All the rankings: city rankings

Questions about Lahore's air

Where is Lahore's smoke coming from today?

The air over Lahore is almost still right now (under 3 km/h, 30 October, 07:45 PKT), so smoke from the city's own sources and from nearby fires can build up instead of blowing away. 1,488 fires were seen within 250 km in the 24 hours to 30 October, 03:48 PKT.

Are crop fires burning near Lahore?

In the last 24 hours NASA's satellites saw 1,488 fire spots within 250 km of Lahore, and 14,234 in the last 30 days. Satellites only see what is burning as they pass, and not under cloud.

How bad is traffic pollution in Lahore?

Over the 14 days 15 October to 28 October 2026, nitrogen dioxide in the air over Lahore (within 15 km) was about 4.07 times the usual level of the surrounding region, roughly 5.82 ×10¹⁵ molecules/cm². Of the 58 cities with enough clear days, it ranks 4.

How many brick kilns are there near Lahore?

The satellite surveys count 1,020 brick kilns within 50 km of Lahore.

Which landfills near Lahore release methane?

Carbon Mapper has measured methane plumes from Lakho Der Landfill (1,559 kg/h).

Every number on this page is also in machine-readable form (JSON).

More about Lahore

Nearby cities: Amritsar (51 km), Gujranwala (70 km), Sialkot (106 km), Faisalabad (121 km)

Fires up to 30 October, 03:48 PKT. This page updates every 15 minutes. Upwind is a guide, not proof: smoke can travel further than 250 km, the wind turns during the day, and satellites can't see fires under cloud. A fire spot is one fire, about 375 m across, however many satellites saw it. Fires: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS and MODIS). Wind: Open-Meteo's weather model. Air: Copernicus CAMS model estimates, which read low in winter.