mm-news-@dmin Neither were they shut down nor was data lost for said period, clarifies the EPCCD official.
LAHORE: Following social media outcry over disruptions in the air quality monitoring system, the Punjab government clarified on Friday that the stations have been “operating without interruption” across Lahore.
Secretary of the Environment Protection and Climate Change Department (EPCCD), Silwat Saeed, admitted that a technical glitch caused a delay in data transmission to the public dashboard.
The official regretted the 12-hour delay from 3 am on 30 October to 3 pm on 31 October 2025, adding that the missing data has been uploaded on aqi.punjab.gov.pk.
The AQI monitors, Silwat added, continued to collect data, which has since been successfully retrieved and incorporated into the database.
“Neither the monitors were shut down nor was the data lost for the period. EPCCD is committed to measuring the air quality of major cities of Punjab by measuring six air pollutants with regulatory-grade monitors and disseminating to the public without manipulation and lag.” The issue was first raised by environment expert Dawar Hameed Butt, alleging that the EPCCD has turned off monitoring stations in Lahore, especially the ones in the more polluted North and East of the city. “The ones left on are still ‘Beyond Index’. These are PAS officers, PhDs, and ‘educated’ staff, and they think closing their eyes will solve the problem. Absolute failure unfolding now.” Later, more social media users commented on the matter, blaming the provincial government for deliberately turning the monitors off to hide failure. However, Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb rebuffed these claims, saying the error was due to a technical glitch.
