SmogRank / Episodes / India
North-western India and Pakistan, March 2026
For 4 days, from 6 to 9 March 2026, 25 cities in India and Pakistan had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Dera Māndi, Delhi, India: 362.5 µg/m³ on 7 March, about 4.3× its usual 84.6.
No cause named We have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached 25 in 2 countries
Days 4 6 to 9 March 2026
Worst day 7 March 22 cities counted
Furthest above usual 4.3× Dera Māndi
Day by day
Play 7 March 22 cities at twice their usual or more
Bathinda Jalandhar Ludhiana Amritsar Lahore Gobindgarh Sirsa Patiāla Fatehābād Hanumāngarh Sri Ganganagar Kaithal Chandigarh Baddi Panchkula Ambāla Gujranwala Hisar Sialkot Thānesar Jīnd Kotli Loharan Faisalabad Yamuna Nagar Panipat Rohtak Charkhi Dādri Chūru Sonīpat Jhunjhunūn Bawāna Narela Bahadurgarh Najafgarh Narnaul Loni Delhi Aya Nagar Dhāruhera Sīkar Rishīkesh Srinagar Bikaner Palwal Rawalpindi Alwar Murree Bulandshahr Multan Bahawalpur Nāgaur Bharatpur Agra Fīrozābād Bareilly Morādābād Mānesar Khanna Islamabad Faridabad Ropar Mohali Muzaffarnagar Bhiwāni Jammu Karnāl Meerut Bhiwadi Bāghpat Khurja Hāpur Greater Noida Ghāziābād Dādri Peshawar Dehradun Noida Vrindāvan Gurugram Dera Māndi 3 Mar 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 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
Gurugram Gurugram, 3 March: 139.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Gurugram, 4 March: 100.9 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Gurugram, 5 March: 116.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Gurugram, 6 March: 176.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Gurugram, 7 March: 303.0 µg/m³, 3.5× usual Gurugram, 8 March: 233.5 µg/m³, 2.7× usual Gurugram, 9 March: 180.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Gurugram, 10 March: no reading Gurugram, 11 March: 215.0 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Gurugram, 12 March: 196.5 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar, 3 March: 60.7 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Muzaffarnagar, 4 March: 67.7 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Muzaffarnagar, 5 March: 77.8 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Muzaffarnagar, 6 March: 121.0 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Muzaffarnagar, 7 March: 99.1 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Muzaffarnagar, 8 March: 88.1 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Muzaffarnagar, 9 March: 81.1 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Muzaffarnagar, 10 March: no reading Muzaffarnagar, 11 March: 102.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Muzaffarnagar, 12 March: 69.4 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Hāpur Hāpur, 3 March: 61.8 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Hāpur, 4 March: 60.1 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Hāpur, 5 March: 57.3 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Hāpur, 6 March: 106.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Hāpur, 7 March: 127.0 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Hāpur, 8 March: 109.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Hāpur, 9 March: 97.8 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Hāpur, 10 March: no reading Hāpur, 11 March: 131.0 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Hāpur, 12 March: 93.4 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Dehradun Dehradun, 3 March: 49.2 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Dehradun, 4 March: no reading Dehradun, 5 March: no reading Dehradun, 6 March: 96.0 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Dehradun, 7 March: 97.5 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Dehradun, 8 March: 116.0 µg/m³, 3.1× usual Dehradun, 9 March: no reading Dehradun, 10 March: no reading Dehradun, 11 March: no reading Dehradun, 12 March: 57.5 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Mohali Mohali, 3 March: 33.3 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Mohali, 4 March: 29.5 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Mohali, 5 March: 32.3 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Mohali, 6 March: 59.6 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Mohali, 7 March: 65.3 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Mohali, 8 March: 56.3 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Mohali, 9 March: 49.4 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Mohali, 10 March: no reading Mohali, 11 March: no reading Mohali, 12 March: no reading Dera Māndi Dera Māndi, 3 March: 75.4 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Dera Māndi, 4 March: 60.2 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Dera Māndi, 5 March: no reading Dera Māndi, 6 March: 86.5 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Dera Māndi, 7 March: 362.5 µg/m³, 4.3× usual Dera Māndi, 8 March: 197.7 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Dera Māndi, 9 March: 138.1 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Dera Māndi, 10 March: no reading Dera Māndi, 11 March: 79.6 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Dera Māndi, 12 March: 75.0 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Ghāziābād Ghāziābād, 3 March: 50.9 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Ghāziābād, 4 March: 51.1 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Ghāziābād, 5 March: 54.9 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Ghāziābād, 6 March: 119.0 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Ghāziābād, 7 March: 187.0 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Ghāziābād, 8 March: 152.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Ghāziābād, 9 March: 127.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Ghāziābād, 10 March: no reading Ghāziābād, 11 March: 102.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Ghāziābād, 12 March: 68.5 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Dādri Dādri, 3 March: 88.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Dādri, 4 March: 72.6 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Dādri, 5 March: 60.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Dādri, 6 March: 118.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Dādri, 7 March: 183.0 µg/m³, 2.8× usual Dādri, 8 March: 160.0 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Dādri, 9 March: 134.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Dādri, 10 March: no reading Dādri, 11 March: 136.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Dādri, 12 March: 95.1 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Noida Noida, 3 March: 84.9 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Noida, 4 March: 67.7 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Noida, 5 March: 67.1 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Noida, 6 March: 91.8 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Noida, 7 March: 174.5 µg/m³, 3.2× usual Noida, 8 March: 130.0 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Noida, 9 March: 114.5 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Noida, 10 March: no reading Noida, 11 March: 109.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Noida, 12 March: 78.3 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Mānesar Mānesar, 3 March: 76.6 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Mānesar, 4 March: no reading Mānesar, 5 March: no reading Mānesar, 6 March: no reading Mānesar, 7 March: 173.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Mānesar, 8 March: 132.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Mānesar, 9 March: 95.6 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Mānesar, 10 March: no reading Mānesar, 11 March: 135.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Mānesar, 12 March: 89.5 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Peshawar Peshawar, 3 March: 64.1 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Peshawar, 4 March: 66.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Peshawar, 5 March: 46.9 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Peshawar, 6 March: 101.7 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Peshawar, 7 March: 159.0 µg/m³, 2.8× usual Peshawar, 8 March: 65.6 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Peshawar, 9 March: 58.4 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Peshawar, 10 March: 47.7 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Peshawar, 11 March: 74.9 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Peshawar, 12 March: 45.3 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Bhiwadi Bhiwadi, 3 March: 90.5 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Bhiwadi, 4 March: 69.1 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Bhiwadi, 5 March: 62.8 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Bhiwadi, 6 March: 94.4 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Bhiwadi, 7 March: 154.5 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Bhiwadi, 8 March: 140.0 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Bhiwadi, 9 March: 139.5 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Bhiwadi, 10 March: no reading Bhiwadi, 11 March: 106.5 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Bhiwadi, 12 March: 136.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Jammu Jammu, 3 March: 79.1 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Jammu, 4 March: 86.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Jammu, 5 March: 102.8 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Jammu, 6 March: 98.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Jammu, 7 March: 131.0 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Jammu, 8 March: 117.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Jammu, 9 March: 95.1 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Jammu, 10 March: 98.2 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Jammu, 11 March: 85.8 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Jammu, 12 March: 35.5 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Bāghpat Bāghpat, 3 March: 58.4 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Bāghpat, 4 March: 57.7 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Bāghpat, 5 March: 49.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Bāghpat, 6 March: 85.7 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Bāghpat, 7 March: 129.0 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Bāghpat, 8 March: 96.9 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Bāghpat, 9 March: 93.2 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Bāghpat, 10 March: no reading Bāghpat, 11 March: 80.9 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Bāghpat, 12 March: 96.2 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Karnāl Karnāl, 3 March: 63.7 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Karnāl, 4 March: 76.4 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Karnāl, 5 March: 80.2 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Karnāl, 6 March: 90.2 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Karnāl, 7 March: 120.0 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Karnāl, 8 March: 80.5 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Karnāl, 9 March: 70.3 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Karnāl, 10 March: no reading Karnāl, 11 March: 74.4 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Karnāl, 12 March: 63.4 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Bhiwāni Bhiwāni, 3 March: 55.8 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Bhiwāni, 4 March: 53.3 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Bhiwāni, 5 March: 65.9 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Bhiwāni, 6 March: 77.6 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Bhiwāni, 7 March: 106.0 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Bhiwāni, 8 March: 69.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Bhiwāni, 9 March: 56.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Bhiwāni, 10 March: no reading Bhiwāni, 11 March: 74.6 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Bhiwāni, 12 March: 68.2 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Meerut Meerut, 3 March: 49.3 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Meerut, 4 March: 49.6 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Meerut, 5 March: 49.3 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Meerut, 6 March: 84.8 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Meerut, 7 March: 101.8 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Meerut, 8 March: 99.0 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Meerut, 9 March: 86.4 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Meerut, 10 March: no reading Meerut, 11 March: 97.1 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Meerut, 12 March: 74.4 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Greater Noida Greater Noida, 3 March: 57.9 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Greater Noida, 4 March: 41.9 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Greater Noida, 5 March: 37.5 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Greater Noida, 6 March: 63.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Greater Noida, 7 March: 98.3 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Greater Noida, 8 March: 92.8 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Greater Noida, 9 March: 73.8 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Greater Noida, 10 March: no reading Greater Noida, 11 March: no reading Greater Noida, 12 March: 58.4 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Ropar Ropar, 3 March: 52.7 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Ropar, 4 March: 40.7 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Ropar, 5 March: 46.0 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Ropar, 6 March: 55.5 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Ropar, 7 March: 93.1 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Ropar, 8 March: 53.3 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Ropar, 9 March: 43.1 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Ropar, 10 March: no reading Ropar, 11 March: 58.2 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Ropar, 12 March: 50.2 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Islamabad Islamabad, 3 March: 45.6 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Islamabad, 4 March: 48.2 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Islamabad, 5 March: 48.7 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Islamabad, 6 March: 50.6 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Islamabad, 7 March: 85.8 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Islamabad, 8 March: 55.5 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Islamabad, 9 March: 41.2 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Islamabad, 10 March: 65.7 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Islamabad, 11 March: 68.1 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Islamabad, 12 March: 36.9 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Khurja Khurja, 3 March: 52.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Khurja, 4 March: 38.6 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Khurja, 5 March: 39.4 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Khurja, 6 March: 64.8 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Khurja, 7 March: 82.5 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Khurja, 8 March: 82.8 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Khurja, 9 March: 63.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Khurja, 10 March: no reading Khurja, 11 March: 75.6 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Khurja, 12 March: 50.0 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Khanna Khanna, 3 March: 63.4 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Khanna, 4 March: 55.8 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Khanna, 5 March: 50.9 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Khanna, 6 March: 74.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Khanna, 7 March: 82.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Khanna, 8 March: 73.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Khanna, 9 March: 61.7 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Khanna, 10 March: no reading Khanna, 11 March: 72.7 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Khanna, 12 March: 55.7 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Vrindāvan Vrindāvan, 3 March: 29.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Vrindāvan, 4 March: 26.5 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Vrindāvan, 5 March: 26.5 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Vrindāvan, 6 March: 28.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Vrindāvan, 7 March: 51.0 µg/m³, 3.2× usual Vrindāvan, 8 March: 34.1 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Vrindāvan, 9 March: 34.1 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Vrindāvan, 10 March: no reading Vrindāvan, 11 March: 33.4 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Vrindāvan, 12 March: 26.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Faridabad Faridabad, 3 March: 88.1 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Faridabad, 4 March: 88.2 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Faridabad, 5 March: 74.0 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Faridabad, 6 March: 74.4 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Faridabad, 7 March: 87.5 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Faridabad, 8 March: 102.0 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Faridabad, 9 March: 88.4 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Faridabad, 10 March: no reading Faridabad, 11 March: 75.3 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Faridabad, 12 March: 92.6 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Morādābād Morādābād, 3 March: 38.9 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Morādābād, 4 March: 40.7 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Morādābād, 5 March: 53.2 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Morādābād, 6 March: 49.5 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Morādābād, 7 March: 50.3 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Morādābād, 8 March: 60.9 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Morādābād, 9 March: 57.8 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Morādābād, 10 March: no reading Morādābād, 11 March: 54.1 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Morādābād, 12 March: 47.5 µg/m³, 1.7× usual 3 Mar 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 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
Dera Māndi Delhi, India 2 7 March 84.6 4.3× Gurugram Haryana, India 4 7 March 86.3 3.5× Vrindāvan Uttar Pradesh, India 3 7 March 15.9 3.2× Noida Uttar Pradesh, India 3 7 March 54.9 3.2× Dehradun Uttarakhand, India 3 8 March 37.7 3.1× Dādri Uttar Pradesh, India 3 7 March 65.1 2.8× Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 1 7 March 56.7 2.8× Ghāziābād Uttar Pradesh, India 2 7 March 71.6 2.6× Hāpur Uttar Pradesh, India 3 11 March 50.9 2.6× Greater Noida Uttar Pradesh, India 2 7 March 38.5 2.6× Khurja Uttar Pradesh, India 2 8 March 33.9 2.4× Bhiwadi Rajasthan, India 3 7 March 63.5 2.4× Bāghpat Uttar Pradesh, India 1 7 March 54.6 2.4× Jammu Jammu and Kashmir, India 1 7 March 55.8 2.3× Karnāl Haryana, India 1 7 March 52.0 2.3× Bhiwāni Haryana, India 1 7 March 46.3 2.3× Meerut Uttar Pradesh, India 2 7 March 45.0 2.3× Ropar Punjab, India 1 7 March 42.1 2.2× Faridabad Haryana, India 1 8 March 46.4 2.2× Mohali Punjab, India 2 7 March 29.8 2.2× Muzaffarnagar Uttar Pradesh, India 1 6 March 55.8 2.2× Islamabad Islamabad, Pakistan 1 7 March 40.1 2.1× Morādābād Uttar Pradesh, India 1 8 March 28.6 2.1× Khanna Punjab, India 1 7 March 39.2 2.1× Mānesar Haryana, India 1 7 March 83.8 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 and Pakistan
Number 9 of 55 episodes in India and Pakistan 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 Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 55 .
Use this page SmogRank, North-western India and Pakistan, March 2026: 25 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 6 to 9 March 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-03-north-western-india-and-pakistan (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.
