SmogRank / Episodes / India

North-western India, December 2025

For 2 days, from 13 to 14 December 2025, 8 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Bawāna, Delhi, India: 496.0 µg/m³ on 13 December, about 2.1× its usual 237.0.

No cause namedWe have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached8in 1 country
Days213 to 14 December 2025
Worst day14 December6 cities counted
Furthest above usual3.5×Bahadurgarh

Day by day

14 December 6 cities at twice their usual or more
JīndBhiwāniHisarRohtakCharkhi DādriKaithalFatehābādPanipatSonīpatKarnālThānesarNarnaulGurugramMānesarSirsaDhāruheraPatiālaBhiwadiDelhiAya NagarLoniDera MāndiJhunjhunūnAmbālaGhāziābādFaridabadChūruYamuna NagarGobindgarhKhannaDādriGreater NoidaMeerutMuzaffarnagarMohaliPanchkulaAlwarChandigarhHāpurLudhianaRoparHanumāngarhSīkarBulandshahrBaddiKhurjaDehradunJalandharVrindāvanJaipurDausaRishīkeshSri GanganagarBharatpurMorādābādAgraAmritsarLahoreFīrozābādBikanerNāgaurBareillyFaisalabadBahawalpurMultanNoidaPalwalNarelaBawānaNajafgarhBāghpatBathindaBahadurgarh
10 Dec11121314151617
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

BawānaBawāna, 10 December: 178.0 µg/m³, 0.8× usualBawāna, 11 December: 208.0 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBawāna, 12 December: 274.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usualBawāna, 13 December: 496.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usualBawāna, 14 December: 491.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usualBawāna, 15 December: 277.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usualBawāna, 16 December: 219.0 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBawāna, 17 December: 237.0 µg/m³, 1.0× usualNoidaNoida, 10 December: 168.0 µg/m³, 0.7× usualNoida, 11 December: 201.5 µg/m³, 0.8× usualNoida, 12 December: 329.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualNoida, 13 December: 487.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usualNoida, 14 December: 456.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usualNoida, 15 December: 328.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualNoida, 16 December: 182.5 µg/m³, 0.8× usualNoida, 17 December: 211.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBahadurgarhBahadurgarh, 10 December: 120.0 µg/m³, 1.0× usualBahadurgarh, 11 December: 118.0 µg/m³, 1.0× usualBahadurgarh, 12 December: 184.0 µg/m³, 1.5× usualBahadurgarh, 13 December: 306.0 µg/m³, 2.6× usualBahadurgarh, 14 December: 424.0 µg/m³, 3.5× usualBahadurgarh, 15 December: 182.0 µg/m³, 1.5× usualBahadurgarh, 16 December: 129.0 µg/m³, 1.1× usualBahadurgarh, 17 December: 163.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualPalwalPalwal, 10 December: 55.1 µg/m³, 1.1× usualPalwal, 11 December: 60.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usualPalwal, 12 December: 67.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualPalwal, 13 December: 98.1 µg/m³, 2.0× usualPalwal, 14 December: 92.6 µg/m³, 1.9× usualPalwal, 15 December: 75.9 µg/m³, 1.6× usualPalwal, 16 December: 68.9 µg/m³, 1.4× usualPalwal, 17 December: 59.9 µg/m³, 1.2× usualNarelaNarela, 10 December: 124.0 µg/m³, 0.6× usualNarela, 11 December: 216.0 µg/m³, 1.0× usualNarela, 12 December: 282.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usualNarela, 13 December: 427.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usualNarela, 14 December: 443.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usualNarela, 15 December: 276.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usualNarela, 16 December: 185.0 µg/m³, 0.9× usualNarela, 17 December: 226.0 µg/m³, 1.1× usualNajafgarhNajafgarh, 10 December: 91.4 µg/m³, 0.6× usualNajafgarh, 11 December: 104.0 µg/m³, 0.7× usualNajafgarh, 12 December: 128.0 µg/m³, 0.9× usualNajafgarh, 13 December: 244.0 µg/m³, 1.7× usualNajafgarh, 14 December: 320.0 µg/m³, 2.2× usualNajafgarh, 15 December: 188.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usualNajafgarh, 16 December: 146.0 µg/m³, 1.0× usualNajafgarh, 17 December: 124.0 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBāghpatBāghpat, 10 December: 103.0 µg/m³, 0.8× usualBāghpat, 11 December: 179.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualBāghpat, 12 December: no readingBāghpat, 13 December: no readingBāghpat, 14 December: 295.0 µg/m³, 2.3× usualBāghpat, 15 December: no readingBāghpat, 16 December: 155.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usualBāghpat, 17 December: 195.0 µg/m³, 1.5× usualBathindaBathinda, 10 December: 23.4 µg/m³, 0.7× usualBathinda, 11 December: 66.4 µg/m³, 2.0× usualBathinda, 12 December: 58.8 µg/m³, 1.8× usualBathinda, 13 December: 71.4 µg/m³, 2.2× usualBathinda, 14 December: 93.1 µg/m³, 2.9× usualBathinda, 15 December: 68.8 µg/m³, 2.1× usualBathinda, 16 December: 76.3 µg/m³, 2.3× usualBathinda, 17 December: 63.7 µg/m³, 2.0× usual10 Dec11121314151617
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.
Good0–50
Moderate51–100
Sensitive groups101–150
Unhealthy151–200
Very unhealthy201–300
Hazardous301+

Every city it reached

CityDaysHighestUsualAbove usual
BahadurgarhHaryana, India2 424.014 December119.53.5×
BathindaPunjab, India1 93.114 December32.52.9×
BāghpatUttar Pradesh, India1 295.014 December126.52.3×
NajafgarhDelhi, India1 320.014 December143.02.2×
NarelaDelhi, India1 443.014 December209.52.1×
BawānaDelhi, India2 496.013 December237.02.1×
PalwalHaryana, India1 98.113 December48.52.0×
NoidaUttar Pradesh, India1 487.013 December242.52.0×

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 52 of 54 episodes in India since our records began, by cities reached.

Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 54.

Use this page

SmogRank, North-western India, December 2025: 8 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 13 to 14 December 2025, smogrank.com/episodes/2025-12-north-western-india (accessed 2 October 2026).

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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.