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Air quality in Islamabad

Air quality index (AQI⁺) and PM2.5 air pollution in
Islamabad
Last update at 23:00, Nov 10

147.7K people follow this city

US AQI⁺ 253

Very Unhealthy

OVERVIEW

What is the current air quality in Islamabad?

Air pollution level Air quality index

Very unhealthy 253 US AQI⁺

Pollutants Concentration

PM2.5 177.6 µg/m³

!
PM2.5

x35.5

PM2.5 concentration in Islamabad is

currently 35.5 times the WHO annual
air quality guideline value

HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS

What is the current air quality in Islamabad?

Avoid outdoor exercise

Close your windows to avoid dirty

outdoor air
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Wear a mask outdoors

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Run an air purifier

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AIR QUALITY DATA CONTRIBUTORS

9 Stations operated by

8 Contributors
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VS

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While 92% of the global population is

exposed to dangerous levels of air
pollution, many places lack
measurements to quantify its effects
and allow communities to respond
effectively.

G E T A M O N ITO R

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How to best protect from air

pollution?
Reduce your air pollution exposure in Islamabad

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ISLAMABAD AIR QUALITY MAP

Real-time Islamabad air pollution

map

SE E O N MA P

WEATHER

What is the current weather in

Islamabad?

Weather Clear sky

Temperature 18°C

Humidity 85%

Wind 10.2 km/h

Pressure 1016 mbar

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DI S C OV E R

FORECAST

Islamabad air quality index (AQI⁺) forecast

Day Pollution level

Friday, Nov 8 Very unhealthy 227 AQI⁺ US

Saturday, Nov 9 Very unhealthy 237 AQI⁺ US

Today Very unhealthy 253 AQI⁺ US

Monday, Nov 11 Very unhealthy 237 AQI⁺ US

Tuesday, Nov 12 Unhealthy 153 AQI⁺ US

Unhealthy for
Wednesday, Nov 13 sensitive groups
124 AQI⁺ US

Thursday, Nov 14 Moderate 98 AQI⁺ US

Interested in hourly forecast? Get the app

HISTORICAL

H O U R LY DAILY

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AQ I⁺ P M 2.5

LIVE AQI⁺ CITY RANKING

Real-time Pakistan city ranking

# CITY US AQI⁺

1 Lahore, Punjab 661

2 Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunk… 638

3 Multan, Punjab 635

4 Rawalpindi, Punjab 296

5 Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 274

6 Islamabad, Islamabad 255

7 Karachi, Sindh 82

23:00, Nov 10 (Local time)

SE E WO RLD AQ I⁺ RA NKING

3D animated air
pollution map

LIVE ISLAMABAD AQI⁺ RANKING

Real-time Islamabad air quality

ranking

# STATION US AQI⁺

1 house street22 e7 269

2 Islamabad Station 257

3 House#8 maain khayaban-E-Iqbal F… 253

4 Street # 1, F-6/3 250

5 Street 8, Sector F-7/3, Islamabad 244

6 Mughal Village, Islamabad (Zone 5) 240

7 AirVisual Outdoor Embassy 233

8 US Embassy in Islamabad 228

9 F7-2, Street 20 224

23:00, Nov 10 (Local time)

SE E WO RLD AQ I⁺ RA NKING

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AIR QUALITY ANALYSIS AND STATISTICS FOR

ISLAMABAD

Is Islamabad a polluted
city?
Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan,
located in the northern region of the country.
It has just over 1 million people living there,
and is considered historically to be an area
that contains evidence of some of the
earliest human settlements. In modern times,
Islamabad attracts people from all over the
country to migrate there, making it one of the
more urbanized and cosmopolitan cities in
Pakistan.

In regards to the levels of pollution in the air,

Islamabad came in with PM2.5 readings of
35.2 µg/m³ as a yearly average over 2019.
This put it as the cleanest city in the whole of
the country, coming in at 10th place out of all
cities currently ranked in Pakistan.

This reading also put it in 311th place out of

all countries worldwide, and whilst this is not
as disastrous of a ranking as other cities
located in Pakistan (with Gujranwala and
Faisalabad taking 3rd and 4th place
worldwide in 2019, with PM2.5 readings of
105.3 µg/m³ and 104.6 µg/m³) it still stands to
reason that the air quality in Islamabad is by
no means safe, and would cause a large
number of issues for its inhabitants,
particularly those who belong to vulnerable
demographics such as young children, the
elderly or those with preexisting health
conditions or compromised immune systems.

What are the main

causes of pollution in
Islamabad?
The main causes of pollution in Islamabad
would stem mostly from it being a heavily
urbanized and cosmopolitan city, as well as
some elements that would still persevere
from older habits that lead to air
contamination. These older practices would
include the open burning of refuse and
waste, as well as the burning of biomass for
heating and cooking around homes.

These factors, whilst still pertinent, do not

figure as largely as the more modern and
pressing issues such as factory emissions,
with large amounts of industrial areas around
Islamabad focused on the recycling of scrap
metals, the production of bricks via the many
brick kilns as well as other chemical
production plants, many of which have no
fixed regulations in regards to the amount of
chemicals or fine particulate matter that they
pump into the atmosphere.

Lastly, the most salient source of pollution in

Islamabad would be that of vehicular
emissions, which along with factory smoke
and fumes, would make up the majority of
ambient year-round pollution levels (although
open burning of garbage is still a dangerous
and present practice).

The many cars, motorbikes and outdated

heavy-duty vehicles on the roads such as
buses, lorries and trucks would all be putting
out vast amounts of pollution, with extremely
old motors being used as well as lower
quality diesel fuels, all of which contribute to
a worser quality of air than modern cleaner
counterparts would.

When is the air quality at

its worst in Islamabad?
Observing the data from the last few years,
the months that came in with the worst
readings of PM2.5 are the same throughout
the whole of Pakistan, and indeed remain the
same for Islamabad. The cleanest months of
the year take place during the middle
months, with March through to May coming
in with the cleanest readings of 18.6 µg/m³,
17.2 µg/m³ and 14.6 µg/m³ respectively,
making May the cleanest month out of the
entire year, with respectable levels of
pollution in comparison, noting that 14.6
µg/m³ is only a few units away from achieving
a ‘good’ rating of air quality (10 to 12 µg/m³
required for classification).

The dirtiest months came towards the end of

the year as well as the very beginning, with a
rapid decline in air quality becoming apparent
around June, with May going from 14.6 µg/m³
to 20.5 µg/m³ in June, and then up even more
to 31.7 µg/m³ in July. This trend continued
until an absolute high of 96.3 µg/m³ was
recorded in December, making it by far the
worst month of the year and putting it into
the ‘unhealthy’ ratings bracket, meaning that
the end month would have the highest level
of danger for those exposed to such high
pollution levels.

Is air quality in Islamabad

getting better?
Once again looking at the data from past
years, it does appear that Islamabad is
making gradual improvements in its air
quality. In 2017, Islamabad came in with a
PM2.5 yearly average of 39.2 µg/m³, putting it
up a notch into the ‘unhealthy for sensitive
groups’ bracket (35.5 to 55.4 µg/m³).

In the next year a minor improvement also

was taken, with a yearly average of 38.6
µg/m³ being taken. Whilst this was only a
subtle change, any improvements in pollution
levels are positive, and true to its cleaner
readings, continued on into 2019 with the
aforementioned average of 35.2 µg/m³, a
rating that was low enough to knock it down
a group into the ‘moderate’ bracket, albeit on
the absolute high end of this grouping.

This shows that pollution levels in Islamabad

are making steady improvements, and with
the right initiatives may continue to do so in
the future.

How does Islamabad

compare to other cities
in Pakistan?
Despite being the capital city, as well as
undergoing rapid urbanization that brings
with it a large amount of pollutive sources
such as construction sites as well as
increased numbers of people and vehicles,
Islamabad has fared very well against its
neighboring cities, free of the catastrophic
spikes of pollution that some of them display.

To give some comparison, the other well-

known city of Lahore came in with a yearly
PM2.5 average of 89.5 µg/m³, nearly two and
a half times that of Islamabad's yearly
reading. It also showed massive highs
throughout the year, with PM2.5 levels
soaring up to 199.1 µg/m³ in January and
182.7 µg/m³ in December, double that of
Islamabad's worst reading (also taken in
December).

With some other cities reviewed, they also

showed the extreme spikes in pollution
present at the end and beginning of the year,
with Faisalabad coming in with the highest
reading in Pakistan out of the entire year of
2019, at 226.2 µg/m³ taken in December,
putting it into the ‘very unhealthy’ bracket,
which requires a PM2.5 reading of anywhere
between 150.5 to 250.4 µg/m³, and as the
name suggests would be disastrous to
anyone caught within the city at that time of
the year. As such, Islamabad is faring quite
well when compared to other cities in
Pakistan, and if its trend of improving
pollution levels continues, may find itself in a
better position in regards to its air quality.

Islamabad air quality data

attribution

8 Contributors

Government Contributor

U.S. Embassy in Islamabad

1 station

Non-profit organization Contributor

 Weather Busters Pakistan
1 station

Individual Contributors

house street22 e7
1 station

Wiechert
1 station

Vladimir Skoric
VS
1 station

ASK
1 station

JDW Group
1 station

Technical Associates Pakistan

1 station

3 Data sources

IQAir

AirNow

U.S. Embassy in Islamabad

Data validated and calibrated by IQAir

Where is the cleanest air quality in

Islamabad?
Islamabad air pollution by location

F7-2, Street 20 224

US Embassy in Islamabad 228

AirVisual Outdoor Embassy 233

Mughal Village, Islamabad (Zone 5) 240

Street 8, Sector F-7/3, Islamabad 244

Street # 1, F-6/3 250

House#8 maain khayaban-E-Iqbal F-6/3 253

Islamabad Station 257

house street22 e7 269

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