SmogRank / Episodes / India
Northern India, May 2026
For 6 days, from 16 to 21 May 2026, 17 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Bettiah, Bihar, India: 321.0 µg/m³ on 16 May, about 14× its usual 22.8. Ended 21 May.
No cause named We have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached 17 in 1 country
Days 6 16 to 21 May 2026
Worst day 20 May 8 cities counted
Furthest above usual 14× Bettiah
Day by day
Play 20 May 8 cities at twice their usual or more
Bhelai Durena Bilāspur Belpahar Raipur Rourkela Bhilai Durg Koīra Barbil Joda Jājang Angul Dera Colliery Township Keonjhargarh Aurangābād Sasarām Maihar Rairangpur Jabalpur Satna Gaya Cuttack Byasanagar Bhubaneswar Prayagraj Rājgīr Baripāda Jharia Damoh Chāpra Patna Nagpur Āsansol Siwān Rānīganj Rasapūdipalem Durgapur Saugor Gorakhpur Munger Mothīhāri Bhāgalpur Kanpur Haldia Lucknow Siddharthanagar Rajamahendravaram Shrīrāmpur Kolkata Amravati Jhānsi Mandideep Katihar Bhopal Purnia Arāria Gwalior Nanded Quthbullapur Hyderabad Patancheru Serilingampalle Fīrozābād Dhaulpur Siliguri Agra Bharatpur Gangtok Varanasi Samāstipur Chānda Hājīpur Potreddipalli Sangāreddi Singrauli Arrah Muzaffarpur Begusarai Kishanganj Bihār Sharīf Siltara Buxar Saharsa Padoli Bettiah 13 May 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 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
Bettiah Bettiah, 13 May: no reading Bettiah, 14 May: 88.9 µg/m³ Bettiah, 15 May: no reading Bettiah, 16 May: 321.0 µg/m³, 14× its usual 22.8 Bettiah, 17 May: no reading Bettiah, 18 May: 170.0 µg/m³, 8.2× its usual 20.7 Bettiah, 19 May: no reading Bettiah, 20 May: 24.9 µg/m³ Bettiah, 21 May: no reading Bettiah, 22 May: no reading Bettiah, 23 May: 24.8 µg/m³ Bettiah, 24 May: 23.9 µg/m³ Saharsa Saharsa, 13 May: 16.3 µg/m³ Saharsa, 14 May: no reading Saharsa, 15 May: no reading Saharsa, 16 May: 128.0 µg/m³, 4.4× its usual 29.4 Saharsa, 17 May: 41.9 µg/m³ Saharsa, 18 May: 37.7 µg/m³ Saharsa, 19 May: 34.9 µg/m³ Saharsa, 20 May: 62.7 µg/m³ Saharsa, 21 May: 24.9 µg/m³ Saharsa, 22 May: 33.7 µg/m³ Saharsa, 23 May: 42.0 µg/m³ Saharsa, 24 May: 45.5 µg/m³ Begusarai Begusarai, 13 May: 27.7 µg/m³ Begusarai, 14 May: 34.8 µg/m³ Begusarai, 15 May: 47.7 µg/m³ Begusarai, 16 May: 67.2 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 30.2 Begusarai, 17 May: 71.7 µg/m³, 2.6× its usual 28.0 Begusarai, 18 May: 58.6 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 28.7 Begusarai, 19 May: 45.9 µg/m³ Begusarai, 20 May: 67.5 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 31.7 Begusarai, 21 May: 43.0 µg/m³ Begusarai, 22 May: 27.8 µg/m³ Begusarai, 23 May: 38.9 µg/m³ Begusarai, 24 May: 30.8 µg/m³ Kishanganj Kishanganj, 13 May: 40.3 µg/m³ Kishanganj, 14 May: 54.4 µg/m³ Kishanganj, 15 May: 62.1 µg/m³ Kishanganj, 16 May: 58.1 µg/m³, 2.7× its usual 21.5 Kishanganj, 17 May: 54.5 µg/m³, 2.7× its usual 20.4 Kishanganj, 18 May: 53.4 µg/m³, 2.6× its usual 20.7 Kishanganj, 19 May: 54.7 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 21.9 Kishanganj, 20 May: 56.5 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 25.7 Kishanganj, 21 May: 47.8 µg/m³ Kishanganj, 22 May: 51.6 µg/m³ Kishanganj, 23 May: 47.8 µg/m³ Kishanganj, 24 May: 47.3 µg/m³ Varanasi Varanasi, 13 May: 29.4 µg/m³ Varanasi, 14 May: 23.8 µg/m³ Varanasi, 15 May: 35.0 µg/m³ Varanasi, 16 May: 45.4 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 22.3 Varanasi, 17 May: 40.3 µg/m³ Varanasi, 18 May: 38.8 µg/m³ Varanasi, 19 May: 29.0 µg/m³ Varanasi, 20 May: 33.3 µg/m³ Varanasi, 21 May: 38.4 µg/m³ Varanasi, 22 May: 29.5 µg/m³ Varanasi, 23 May: 40.4 µg/m³ Varanasi, 24 May: 46.2 µg/m³ Singrauli Singrauli, 13 May: no reading Singrauli, 14 May: 60.1 µg/m³ Singrauli, 15 May: 70.7 µg/m³ Singrauli, 16 May: no reading Singrauli, 17 May: 100.0 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 45.2 Singrauli, 18 May: no reading Singrauli, 19 May: 93.6 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 46.0 Singrauli, 20 May: 97.9 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 46.9 Singrauli, 21 May: 98.8 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 46.8 Singrauli, 22 May: 109.0 µg/m³ Singrauli, 23 May: 76.8 µg/m³ Singrauli, 24 May: no reading Hājīpur Hājīpur, 13 May: 56.0 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 14 May: 45.5 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 15 May: 72.9 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 16 May: 87.7 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 17 May: 96.7 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 45.1 Hājīpur, 18 May: 78.5 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 19 May: 67.5 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 20 May: 83.3 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 21 May: 75.1 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 22 May: 62.2 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 23 May: 70.3 µg/m³ Hājīpur, 24 May: 55.8 µg/m³ Arrah Arrah, 13 May: 16.2 µg/m³ Arrah, 14 May: 16.0 µg/m³ Arrah, 15 May: 23.0 µg/m³ Arrah, 16 May: 26.5 µg/m³ Arrah, 17 May: 37.1 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 16.1 Arrah, 18 May: 32.3 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 16.1 Arrah, 19 May: 21.7 µg/m³ Arrah, 20 May: 28.6 µg/m³ Arrah, 21 May: 24.5 µg/m³ Arrah, 22 May: 20.4 µg/m³ Arrah, 23 May: 32.2 µg/m³ Arrah, 24 May: 27.8 µg/m³ Buxar Buxar, 13 May: 30.7 µg/m³ Buxar, 14 May: 27.1 µg/m³ Buxar, 15 May: 34.3 µg/m³ Buxar, 16 May: 36.0 µg/m³ Buxar, 17 May: 40.5 µg/m³ Buxar, 18 May: 94.6 µg/m³, 3.4× its usual 28.1 Buxar, 19 May: 123.0 µg/m³, 4.3× its usual 28.5 Buxar, 20 May: 56.3 µg/m³ Buxar, 21 May: 55.8 µg/m³ Buxar, 22 May: no reading Buxar, 23 May: 76.3 µg/m³ Buxar, 24 May: 35.7 µg/m³ Samāstipur Samāstipur, 13 May: no reading Samāstipur, 14 May: no reading Samāstipur, 15 May: no reading Samāstipur, 16 May: no reading Samāstipur, 17 May: no reading Samāstipur, 18 May: no reading Samāstipur, 19 May: 52.4 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 26.1 Samāstipur, 20 May: 18.7 µg/m³ Samāstipur, 21 May: no reading Samāstipur, 22 May: no reading Samāstipur, 23 May: no reading Samāstipur, 24 May: no reading Siltara Siltara, 13 May: 20.7 µg/m³ Siltara, 14 May: 18.9 µg/m³ Siltara, 15 May: 22.4 µg/m³ Siltara, 16 May: 32.8 µg/m³ Siltara, 17 May: no reading Siltara, 18 May: no reading Siltara, 19 May: 50.9 µg/m³ Siltara, 20 May: 83.8 µg/m³, 3.0× its usual 28.2 Siltara, 21 May: 95.0 µg/m³, 3.4× its usual 28.1 Siltara, 22 May: 59.1 µg/m³ Siltara, 23 May: 84.9 µg/m³ Siltara, 24 May: 87.8 µg/m³ Padoli Padoli, 13 May: 50.4 µg/m³ Padoli, 14 May: 50.0 µg/m³ Padoli, 15 May: 65.4 µg/m³ Padoli, 16 May: 90.0 µg/m³ Padoli, 17 May: 49.0 µg/m³ Padoli, 18 May: 45.9 µg/m³ Padoli, 19 May: 48.2 µg/m³ Padoli, 20 May: 80.2 µg/m³, 3.6× its usual 22.4 Padoli, 21 May: 111.0 µg/m³, 4.7× its usual 23.7 Padoli, 22 May: 88.3 µg/m³ Padoli, 23 May: 50.3 µg/m³ Padoli, 24 May: 48.9 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur, 13 May: 47.3 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 14 May: 42.2 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 15 May: 51.8 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 16 May: 46.0 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 17 May: 47.5 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 18 May: 53.7 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 19 May: 44.7 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 20 May: 76.0 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 32.4 Muzaffarpur, 21 May: 44.5 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 22 May: 45.3 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 23 May: 53.6 µg/m³ Muzaffarpur, 24 May: 41.9 µg/m³ Sangāreddi Sangāreddi, 13 May: 36.4 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 14 May: 44.0 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 15 May: 39.2 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 16 May: no reading Sangāreddi, 17 May: no reading Sangāreddi, 18 May: 42.2 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 19 May: 44.2 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 20 May: 69.3 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 31.6 Sangāreddi, 21 May: 39.2 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 22 May: 39.6 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 23 May: 34.5 µg/m³ Sangāreddi, 24 May: 33.1 µg/m³ Potreddipalli Potreddipalli, 13 May: 36.4 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 14 May: 44.0 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 15 May: 39.2 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 16 May: no reading Potreddipalli, 17 May: no reading Potreddipalli, 18 May: 42.2 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 19 May: 44.2 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 20 May: 69.3 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 31.6 Potreddipalli, 21 May: 39.2 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 22 May: 39.6 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 23 May: 34.5 µg/m³ Potreddipalli, 24 May: 33.1 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf Bihār Sharīf, 13 May: 24.4 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 14 May: no reading Bihār Sharīf, 15 May: 27.7 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 16 May: 27.4 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 17 May: 38.4 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 18 May: 47.7 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 19 May: no reading Bihār Sharīf, 20 May: 41.1 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 21 May: 80.1 µg/m³, 2.9× its usual 27.3 Bihār Sharīf, 22 May: 28.1 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 23 May: 24.9 µg/m³ Bihār Sharīf, 24 May: 30.9 µg/m³ Chānda Chānda, 13 May: 41.5 µg/m³ Chānda, 14 May: 41.5 µg/m³ Chānda, 15 May: 58.5 µg/m³ Chānda, 16 May: 67.6 µg/m³ Chānda, 17 May: 37.1 µg/m³ Chānda, 18 May: 45.2 µg/m³ Chānda, 19 May: 51.4 µg/m³ Chānda, 20 May: 66.8 µg/m³ Chānda, 21 May: 76.2 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 36.5 Chānda, 22 May: no reading Chānda, 23 May: 59.6 µg/m³ Chānda, 24 May: 63.1 µg/m³ 13 May 15 17 19 21 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
Bettiah Bihar, India 2 16 May 22.8 14× Padoli Maharashtra, India 2 21 May 23.7 4.7× Saharsa Bihar, India 1 16 May 29.4 4.4× Buxar Bihar, India 2 19 May 28.5 4.3× Siltara Chhattisgarh, India 2 21 May 28.1 3.4× Bihār Sharīf Bihar, India 1 21 May 27.3 2.9× Kishanganj Bihar, India 5 16 May 21.5 2.7× Begusarai Bihar, India 4 17 May 28.0 2.6× Muzaffarpur Bihar, India 1 20 May 32.4 2.3× Arrah Bihar, India 2 17 May 16.1 2.3× Singrauli Madhya Pradesh, India 4 17 May 45.2 2.2× Sangāreddi Telangana, India 1 20 May 31.6 2.2× Potreddipalli Telangana, India 1 20 May 31.6 2.2× Hājīpur Bihar, India 1 17 May 45.1 2.1× Chānda Maharashtra, India 1 21 May 36.5 2.1× Samāstipur Bihar, India 1 19 May 26.1 2.0× Varanasi Uttar Pradesh, India 1 16 May 22.3 2.0×
Daily means in µg/m³, over the days each city counted in this episode. Highest: its highest of those days. Usual: the city's median for the time of year of that day (its days within 21 days of the date, every year, leaving out the week around it). Above usual: its highest day against that, with a usual under 5 µg/m³ taken as 5.
Against other episodes in India
Number 16 of 61 episodes in India since our records began, by cities reached.
India and Pakistan, October 2025 178 Western India and Pakistan, September 2026 59 North-western India, 9 to 20 July 2026 53 Northern India, March and April 2025 52 Northern India and Pakistan, June 2025 49 North-western India, November 2025 29 North-western India and Pakistan, April and May 2025 27 North-western India, 21 to 29 April 2026 26 North-western India and Pakistan, March 2026 26 Northern India, July 2025 25 North-eastern India, July 2026 23 North-western India, 15 to 16 May 2025 23 Northern India, May 2026 17 Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 61 .
Use this page SmogRank, Northern India, May 2026: 17 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 16 to 21 May 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-05-northern-india (accessed 5 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.
