SmogRank / Episodes / India

North-eastern India, March 2026

For 2 days, from 7 to 8 March 2026, 12 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Mandideep, Madhya Pradesh, India: 178.0 µg/m³ on 7 March, about 2.4× its usual 72.9.

No cause namedWe have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached12in 1 country
Days27 to 8 March 2026
Worst day7 March9 cities counted
Furthest above usual3.9×Damoh

Day by day

7 March 9 cities at twice their usual or more
JabalpurSatnaRajākheriSaugorBilāspurJhānsiDurgBhilaiRaipurKanpurNagpurBhopalGwaliorAmravatiSasarāmBelpaharBuxarAurangābādBārānJhālāwārDewasKarauliIndoreRourkelaSawai MadhopurSiwānGayaKotaPithampurChāpraBūndiPatnaRājgīrBarbilHājīpurTonkJodaBihār SharīfRatlāmAngulDera Colliery TownshipJalgaonMuzaffarpurKeonjhargarhPratāpgarhSamāstipurChittorgarhRairangpurBhilwaraBegusaraiDhuleMungerByasanagarAjmerBaripādaĀsansolRājsamandDūngarpurRānīganjUdaipurBhāgalpurDurgapurUnderaPāliPurniaArāriaSirohiAnkleshwarGandhinagarNandriAhmedabadJodhpurHaldiaJalorShrīrāmpurKolkataSaharsaBānswāraKatiharSingrauliPrayagrajArrahMandideepVaranasiBhelaiKishanganjDamohSurat
4 Mar567891011
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

SuratSurat, 4 March: 80.7 µg/m³, 3.1× usualSurat, 5 March: 66.2 µg/m³, 2.6× usualSurat, 6 March: 61.9 µg/m³, 2.4× usualSurat, 7 March: 101.0 µg/m³, 3.9× usualSurat, 8 March: 72.7 µg/m³, 2.8× usualSurat, 9 March: 72.8 µg/m³, 2.8× usualSurat, 10 March: no readingSurat, 11 March: 106.0 µg/m³, 4.1× usualDamohDamoh, 4 March: 37.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usualDamoh, 5 March: 35.5 µg/m³, 1.8× usualDamoh, 6 March: 29.6 µg/m³, 1.5× usualDamoh, 7 March: 55.2 µg/m³, 2.8× usualDamoh, 8 March: 73.0 µg/m³, 3.8× usualDamoh, 9 March: 107.0 µg/m³, 5.5× usualDamoh, 10 March: no readingDamoh, 11 March: 87.6 µg/m³, 4.5× usualKishanganjKishanganj, 4 March: 52.3 µg/m³, 1.6× usualKishanganj, 5 March: 72.8 µg/m³, 2.2× usualKishanganj, 6 March: 74.1 µg/m³, 2.2× usualKishanganj, 7 March: 105.0 µg/m³, 3.1× usualKishanganj, 8 March: 97.4 µg/m³, 2.9× usualKishanganj, 9 March: no readingKishanganj, 10 March: no readingKishanganj, 11 March: 31.6 µg/m³, 0.9× usualMandideepMandideep, 4 March: 135.0 µg/m³, 1.9× usualMandideep, 5 March: no readingMandideep, 6 March: 113.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usualMandideep, 7 March: 178.0 µg/m³, 2.4× usualMandideep, 8 March: 120.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usualMandideep, 9 March: 148.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usualMandideep, 10 March: no readingMandideep, 11 March: 152.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usualArrahArrah, 4 March: no readingArrah, 5 March: no readingArrah, 6 March: 67.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usualArrah, 7 March: 79.3 µg/m³, 2.3× usualArrah, 8 March: 79.3 µg/m³, 2.3× usualArrah, 9 March: 80.3 µg/m³, 2.3× usualArrah, 10 March: no readingArrah, 11 March: 77.4 µg/m³, 2.2× usualKatiharKatihar, 4 March: no readingKatihar, 5 March: no readingKatihar, 6 March: 56.6 µg/m³, 1.7× usualKatihar, 7 March: 68.9 µg/m³, 2.1× usualKatihar, 8 March: no readingKatihar, 9 March: 36.5 µg/m³, 1.1× usualKatihar, 10 March: no readingKatihar, 11 March: 37.7 µg/m³, 1.1× usualBānswāraBānswāra, 4 March: 29.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBānswāra, 5 March: 29.9 µg/m³, 1.0× usualBānswāra, 6 March: 26.4 µg/m³, 0.8× usualBānswāra, 7 March: 65.5 µg/m³, 2.1× usualBānswāra, 8 March: 28.4 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBānswāra, 9 March: 40.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usualBānswāra, 10 March: no readingBānswāra, 11 March: 25.3 µg/m³, 0.8× usualPrayagrajPrayagraj, 4 March: 30.4 µg/m³, 1.2× usualPrayagraj, 5 March: 33.3 µg/m³, 1.3× usualPrayagraj, 6 March: 46.9 µg/m³, 1.9× usualPrayagraj, 7 March: 54.4 µg/m³, 2.2× usualPrayagraj, 8 March: 52.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usualPrayagraj, 9 March: 43.7 µg/m³, 1.7× usualPrayagraj, 10 March: no readingPrayagraj, 11 March: 48.6 µg/m³, 1.9× usualVaranasiVaranasi, 4 March: 34.1 µg/m³, 1.8× usualVaranasi, 5 March: 31.3 µg/m³, 1.6× usualVaranasi, 6 March: 34.6 µg/m³, 1.8× usualVaranasi, 7 March: 50.1 µg/m³, 2.6× usualVaranasi, 8 March: 55.2 µg/m³, 2.9× usualVaranasi, 9 March: 53.9 µg/m³, 2.8× usualVaranasi, 10 March: no readingVaranasi, 11 March: 51.0 µg/m³, 2.7× usualSingrauliSingrauli, 4 March: 65.0 µg/m³, 0.8× usualSingrauli, 5 March: 54.6 µg/m³, 0.7× usualSingrauli, 6 March: 108.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualSingrauli, 7 March: 155.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usualSingrauli, 8 March: 170.0 µg/m³, 2.2× usualSingrauli, 9 March: no readingSingrauli, 10 March: no readingSingrauli, 11 March: 108.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualBhelaiBhelai, 4 March: 36.2 µg/m³, 0.7× usualBhelai, 5 March: 40.5 µg/m³, 0.7× usualBhelai, 6 March: 71.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usualBhelai, 7 March: 83.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usualBhelai, 8 March: 167.0 µg/m³, 3.1× usualBhelai, 9 March: 94.7 µg/m³, 1.8× usualBhelai, 10 March: no readingBhelai, 11 March: 83.1 µg/m³, 1.5× usualSaharsaSaharsa, 4 March: 88.9 µg/m³, 1.8× usualSaharsa, 5 March: 76.5 µg/m³, 1.5× usualSaharsa, 6 March: 88.1 µg/m³, 1.7× usualSaharsa, 7 March: 89.3 µg/m³, 1.8× usualSaharsa, 8 March: 102.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usualSaharsa, 9 March: 92.1 µg/m³, 1.8× usualSaharsa, 10 March: no readingSaharsa, 11 March: 89.1 µg/m³, 1.8× usual4 Mar567891011
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
DamohMadhya Pradesh, India2 107.09 March19.45.5×
SuratGujarat, India1 106.011 March25.84.1×
KishanganjBihar, India2 105.07 March33.53.1×
BhelaiChhattisgarh, India1 167.08 March54.13.1×
VaranasiUttar Pradesh, India2 55.28 March19.02.9×
MandideepMadhya Pradesh, India1 178.07 March72.92.4×
ArrahBihar, India2 80.39 March35.22.3×
SingrauliMadhya Pradesh, India1 170.08 March76.52.2×
PrayagrajUttar Pradesh, India2 54.47 March25.02.2×
BānswāraRajasthan, India1 65.57 March31.32.1×
KatiharBihar, India1 68.97 March33.52.1×
SaharsaBihar, India1 102.08 March50.62.0×

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 28 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-eastern India, March 2026: 12 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 7 to 8 March 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-03-north-eastern-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.