SmogRank / Episodes / India
Northern India, July 2025
For 2 days, from 19 to 20 July 2025, 14 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Arāria, Bihar, India: 243.0 µg/m³ on 20 July, about 8.5× its usual 28.5.
No cause named We have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached 14 in 1 country
Days 2 19 to 20 July 2025
Worst day 19 July 11 cities counted
Furthest above usual 8.5× Saugor
Day by day
Play 19 July 11 cities at twice their usual or more
Singrauli Bilāspur Belpahar Aurangābād Varanasi Rourkela Buxar Prayagraj Raipur Barbil Arrah Rājgīr Chāpra Patna Keonjhargarh Siwān Hājīpur Dera Colliery Township Angul Rairangpur Muzaffarpur Samāstipur Begusarai Bettiah Mothīhāri Byasanagar Baripāda Āsansol Munger Cuttack Lucknow Rānīganj Kanpur Bhubaneswar Durgapur Rajākheri Saharsa Bhāgalpur Katihar Purnia Haldia Kishanganj Gwalior Fīrozābād Dhaulpur Agra Jhānsi Gorakhpur Damoh Nagpur Gaya Maihar Bhilai Jabalpur Saugor Joda Chānda Durg Bhelai Arāria 16 Jul 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Every measured city in the area, coloured by its PM2.5 that day; a dark ring marks a city at twice its usual or more. Bars: cities counted each day, coloured by their median level. Choose a day or press play; without JavaScript, the days link to that day's world ranking.
How it spread
Bhelai Bhelai, 16 July: 66.9 µg/m³, 4.1× usual Bhelai, 17 July: 74.7 µg/m³, 4.6× usual Bhelai, 18 July: 89.2 µg/m³, 5.4× usual Bhelai, 19 July: 88.9 µg/m³, 5.4× usual Bhelai, 20 July: 85.5 µg/m³, 5.2× usual Bhelai, 21 July: 93.9 µg/m³, 5.7× usual Bhelai, 22 July: 106.0 µg/m³, 6.5× usual Bhelai, 23 July: 92.6 µg/m³, 5.6× usual Gaya Gaya, 16 July: 59.4 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Gaya, 17 July: 14.7 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Gaya, 18 July: 42.1 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Gaya, 19 July: 43.1 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Gaya, 20 July: 61.2 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Gaya, 21 July: 65.2 µg/m³, 2.8× usual Gaya, 22 July: 109.5 µg/m³, 4.6× usual Gaya, 23 July: 34.6 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Joda Joda, 16 July: 37.1 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Joda, 17 July: 63.0 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Joda, 18 July: 81.1 µg/m³, 2.9× usual Joda, 19 July: 69.7 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Joda, 20 July: 86.9 µg/m³, 3.1× usual Joda, 21 July: 47.6 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Joda, 22 July: 39.1 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Joda, 23 July: 75.1 µg/m³, 2.7× usual Saugor Saugor, 16 July: 33.3 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Saugor, 17 July: 48.3 µg/m³, 2.7× usual Saugor, 18 July: 65.9 µg/m³, 3.6× usual Saugor, 19 July: 53.4 µg/m³, 2.9× usual Saugor, 20 July: 209.0 µg/m³, 11× usual Saugor, 21 July: no reading Saugor, 22 July: no reading Saugor, 23 July: no reading Chānda Chānda, 16 July: 15.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Chānda, 17 July: 29.8 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Chānda, 18 July: 27.1 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Chānda, 19 July: 61.9 µg/m³, 3.6× usual Chānda, 20 July: 33.1 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Chānda, 21 July: 37.5 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Chānda, 22 July: 16.9 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Chānda, 23 July: 48.4 µg/m³, 2.8× usual Nagpur Nagpur, 16 July: 23.4 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Nagpur, 17 July: 27.7 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Nagpur, 18 July: 35.3 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Nagpur, 19 July: 49.0 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Nagpur, 20 July: 30.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Nagpur, 21 July: 24.4 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Nagpur, 22 July: 19.9 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Nagpur, 23 July: 20.8 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Jabalpur Jabalpur, 16 July: 14.4 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Jabalpur, 17 July: 15.3 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Jabalpur, 18 July: 23.8 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Jabalpur, 19 July: 46.2 µg/m³, 2.9× usual Jabalpur, 20 July: 21.4 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Jabalpur, 21 July: 28.3 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Jabalpur, 22 July: 17.2 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Jabalpur, 23 July: 14.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Maihar Maihar, 16 July: 28.5 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Maihar, 17 July: 20.0 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Maihar, 18 July: 28.9 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Maihar, 19 July: 46.0 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Maihar, 20 July: 27.1 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Maihar, 21 July: 33.8 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Maihar, 22 July: 22.5 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Maihar, 23 July: no reading Jhānsi Jhānsi, 16 July: 29.7 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Jhānsi, 17 July: 19.8 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Jhānsi, 18 July: 23.8 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Jhānsi, 19 July: 45.6 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Jhānsi, 20 July: 48.5 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Jhānsi, 21 July: 41.1 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Jhānsi, 22 July: 34.6 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Jhānsi, 23 July: 23.5 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Bhilai Bhilai, 16 July: no reading Bhilai, 17 July: no reading Bhilai, 18 July: no reading Bhilai, 19 July: 37.8 µg/m³, 2.9× usual Bhilai, 20 July: no reading Bhilai, 21 July: no reading Bhilai, 22 July: no reading Bhilai, 23 July: 14.9 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Durg Durg, 16 July: 16.2 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Durg, 17 July: 21.6 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Durg, 18 July: 21.6 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Durg, 19 July: 32.7 µg/m³, 3.8× usual Durg, 20 July: 29.2 µg/m³, 3.4× usual Durg, 21 July: 25.0 µg/m³, 2.9× usual Durg, 22 July: 27.3 µg/m³, 3.2× usual Durg, 23 July: 23.8 µg/m³, 2.8× usual Damoh Damoh, 16 July: 11.6 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Damoh, 17 July: 13.6 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Damoh, 18 July: 23.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Damoh, 19 July: 26.5 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Damoh, 20 July: 23.1 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Damoh, 21 July: 15.9 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Damoh, 22 July: 14.3 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Damoh, 23 July: 4.0 µg/m³, 0.3× usual Arāria Arāria, 16 July: 52.4 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Arāria, 17 July: no reading Arāria, 18 July: no reading Arāria, 19 July: no reading Arāria, 20 July: 243.0 µg/m³, 8.5× usual Arāria, 21 July: no reading Arāria, 22 July: 107.0 µg/m³, 3.8× usual Arāria, 23 July: no reading Gorakhpur Gorakhpur, 16 July: 13.7 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Gorakhpur, 17 July: 9.9 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Gorakhpur, 18 July: 12.0 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Gorakhpur, 19 July: 28.4 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Gorakhpur, 20 July: 34.6 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Gorakhpur, 21 July: 28.5 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Gorakhpur, 22 July: 26.4 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Gorakhpur, 23 July: 41.1 µg/m³, 2.5× usual 16 Jul 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Every counted city, in the order the episode reached them, 3 days before to 3 after. Each square is a day, coloured by that day's PM2.5; outlined: at twice the city's usual or more. Good 0–50
Moderate 51–100
Sensitive groups 101–150
Unhealthy 151–200
Very unhealthy 201–300
Hazardous 301+
Every city it reached
City Days Highest Usual Above usual
Saugor Madhya Pradesh, India 1 20 July 18.2 11× Arāria Bihar, India 1 20 July 28.5 8.5× Bhelai Chhattisgarh, India 2 22 July 16.4 6.5× Gaya Bihar, India 1 22 July 23.6 4.6× Durg Chhattisgarh, India 2 19 July 8.6 3.8× Chānda Maharashtra, India 1 19 July 17.2 3.6× Joda Odisha, India 2 20 July 28.0 3.1× Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh, India 1 19 July 15.7 2.9× Bhilai Chhattisgarh, India 1 19 July 13.1 2.9× Maihar Madhya Pradesh, India 1 19 July 17.8 2.6× Gorakhpur Uttar Pradesh, India 1 23 July 16.2 2.5× Nagpur Maharashtra, India 1 19 July 19.9 2.5× Jhānsi Uttar Pradesh, India 1 20 July 22.5 2.2× Damoh Madhya Pradesh, India 1 19 July 12.4 2.1×
Daily means in µg/m³. Usual: the city's median for this time of year (its days within 21 days of the date, every year, leaving out the week around it). Above usual: its highest day against that.
Against other episodes in India
Number 21 of 54 episodes in India since our records began, by cities reached.
North-western India, October 2025 170 North-western India, September 2026 57 North-western India, July 2026 51 North-western India, June 2025 47 North-eastern India, March and April 2025 45 North-western India, November 2025 27 North-western India, April 2026 26 North-western India, April and May 2025 26 North-western India and Pakistan, March 2026 25 North-western India, May 2025 23 North-eastern India, July 2026 22 North-eastern India, April 2025 20 Northern India, July 2025 14 Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 54 .
Use this page SmogRank, Northern India, July 2025: 14 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 19 to 20 July 2025, smogrank.com/episodes/2025-07-northern-india (accessed 2 October 2026).
Copy citation Download top 10 (PNG)
You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms .
An episode is a run of days when many cities close to each other (four or more within 350 km on a day, 8 or more in all) each had a daily PM2.5 mean of at least 25 µg/m³ and at least 2 times their usual for that time of year. Found in our own measurements, not picked by hand. How we find episodes . Values are each city's daily mean of its own monitors; causes are the usual kinds for a pattern like this, not a confirmed source.
