SmogRank / Episodes / India

Bihar, India, August 2026

For 3 days, from 21 to 23 August 2026, 10 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Sasarām, Bihar, India: 208.0 µg/m³ on 22 August, about 18× its usual 11.6.

No cause namedWe have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached10in 1 country
Days321 to 23 August 2026
Worst day22 August10 cities counted
Furthest above usual18×Sasarām

Day by day

22 August 10 cities at twice their usual or more
RourkelaJodaJhariaRairangpurKeonjhargarhBelpaharĀsansolRānīganjBaripādaArrahPatnaDurgapurHājīpurDera Colliery TownshipChāpraSingrauliAngulBhelaiSamāstipurByasanagarMuzaffarpurSaharsaBilāspurBhubaneswarMothīhāriHaldiaKatiharShrīrāmpurKolkataPurniaArāriaPrayagrajRaipurKishanganjBhilaiDurgSatnaBegusaraiBarbilGayaCuttackVaranasiSiwānMungerAurangābādBhāgalpurSasarām
18 Aug1920212223242526
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

SiwānSiwān, 18 August: no readingSiwān, 19 August: 45.9 µg/m³, 2.5× usualSiwān, 20 August: 46.6 µg/m³, 2.6× usualSiwān, 21 August: 46.2 µg/m³, 2.6× usualSiwān, 22 August: 46.2 µg/m³, 2.6× usualSiwān, 23 August: no readingSiwān, 24 August: 47.0 µg/m³, 2.6× usualSiwān, 25 August: 46.2 µg/m³, 2.6× usualSiwān, 26 August: 45.7 µg/m³, 2.5× usualSasarāmSasarām, 18 August: 3.9 µg/m³, 0.3× usualSasarām, 19 August: 4.2 µg/m³, 0.4× usualSasarām, 20 August: 64.5 µg/m³, 5.6× usualSasarām, 21 August: 145.0 µg/m³, 13× usualSasarām, 22 August: 208.0 µg/m³, 18× usualSasarām, 23 August: 84.2 µg/m³, 7.3× usualSasarām, 24 August: 55.9 µg/m³, 4.8× usualSasarām, 25 August: 65.2 µg/m³, 5.6× usualSasarām, 26 August: 48.1 µg/m³, 4.1× usualCuttackCuttack, 18 August: 5.8 µg/m³, 0.4× usualCuttack, 19 August: 14.8 µg/m³, 1.0× usualCuttack, 20 August: 30.3 µg/m³, 2.0× usualCuttack, 21 August: 22.6 µg/m³, 1.5× usualCuttack, 22 August: 36.5 µg/m³, 2.4× usualCuttack, 23 August: 38.5 µg/m³, 2.6× usualCuttack, 24 August: no readingCuttack, 25 August: 15.8 µg/m³, 1.1× usualCuttack, 26 August: 21.0 µg/m³, 1.4× usualGayaGaya, 18 August: 11.8 µg/m³, 0.5× usualGaya, 19 August: 28.8 µg/m³, 1.3× usualGaya, 20 August: 26.9 µg/m³, 1.2× usualGaya, 21 August: 46.2 µg/m³, 2.1× usualGaya, 22 August: 49.2 µg/m³, 2.2× usualGaya, 23 August: 22.8 µg/m³, 1.0× usualGaya, 24 August: 33.7 µg/m³, 1.5× usualGaya, 25 August: 29.4 µg/m³, 1.3× usualGaya, 26 August: 37.4 µg/m³, 1.7× usualBarbilBarbil, 18 August: 12.8 µg/m³, 0.6× usualBarbil, 19 August: 23.4 µg/m³, 1.1× usualBarbil, 20 August: 24.9 µg/m³, 1.1× usualBarbil, 21 August: 45.7 µg/m³, 2.1× usualBarbil, 22 August: 49.9 µg/m³, 2.2× usualBarbil, 23 August: 48.1 µg/m³, 2.2× usualBarbil, 24 August: 25.0 µg/m³, 1.1× usualBarbil, 25 August: 28.8 µg/m³, 1.3× usualBarbil, 26 August: 55.5 µg/m³, 2.5× usualAurangābādAurangābād, 18 August: no readingAurangābād, 19 August: no readingAurangābād, 20 August: no readingAurangābād, 21 August: no readingAurangābād, 22 August: 155.0 µg/m³, 4.2× usualAurangābād, 23 August: 35.5 µg/m³, 1.0× usualAurangābād, 24 August: 45.4 µg/m³, 1.2× usualAurangābād, 25 August: 24.3 µg/m³, 0.7× usualAurangābād, 26 August: 29.2 µg/m³, 0.8× usualBhāgalpurBhāgalpur, 18 August: 28.4 µg/m³, 1.0× usualBhāgalpur, 19 August: 27.4 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBhāgalpur, 20 August: 25.1 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBhāgalpur, 21 August: 37.7 µg/m³, 1.3× usualBhāgalpur, 22 August: 78.5 µg/m³, 2.7× usualBhāgalpur, 23 August: 132.0 µg/m³, 4.5× usualBhāgalpur, 24 August: 82.6 µg/m³, 2.8× usualBhāgalpur, 25 August: 33.3 µg/m³, 1.1× usualBhāgalpur, 26 August: 27.3 µg/m³, 0.9× usualMungerMunger, 18 August: no readingMunger, 19 August: no readingMunger, 20 August: no readingMunger, 21 August: 36.4 µg/m³, 1.9× usualMunger, 22 August: 69.5 µg/m³, 3.6× usualMunger, 23 August: no readingMunger, 24 August: no readingMunger, 25 August: no readingMunger, 26 August: no readingBegusaraiBegusarai, 18 August: 10.6 µg/m³, 0.4× usualBegusarai, 19 August: 23.1 µg/m³, 0.9× usualBegusarai, 20 August: 38.6 µg/m³, 1.5× usualBegusarai, 21 August: 46.4 µg/m³, 1.8× usualBegusarai, 22 August: 54.1 µg/m³, 2.1× usualBegusarai, 23 August: 32.9 µg/m³, 1.3× usualBegusarai, 24 August: 20.7 µg/m³, 0.8× usualBegusarai, 25 August: 17.4 µg/m³, 0.7× usualBegusarai, 26 August: 23.3 µg/m³, 0.9× usualVaranasiVaranasi, 18 August: 17.8 µg/m³, 1.1× usualVaranasi, 19 August: 24.8 µg/m³, 1.5× usualVaranasi, 20 August: 23.9 µg/m³, 1.5× usualVaranasi, 21 August: 28.7 µg/m³, 1.8× usualVaranasi, 22 August: 41.8 µg/m³, 2.6× usualVaranasi, 23 August: 25.6 µg/m³, 1.6× usualVaranasi, 24 August: 22.9 µg/m³, 1.4× usualVaranasi, 25 August: 10.8 µg/m³, 0.7× usualVaranasi, 26 August: 12.6 µg/m³, 0.8× usual18 Aug1920212223242526
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
SasarāmBihar, India3 208.022 August11.618×
BhāgalpurBihar, India2 132.023 August29.24.5×
AurangābādBihar, India1 155.022 August37.34.2×
MungerBihar, India1 69.522 August19.33.6×
SiwānBihar, India2 47.024 August18.12.6×
VaranasiUttar Pradesh, India1 41.822 August16.22.6×
CuttackOdisha, India2 38.523 August15.02.6×
BarbilOdisha, India3 55.526 August22.22.5×
GayaBihar, India2 49.222 August22.22.2×
BegusaraiBihar, India1 54.122 August25.32.1×

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 38 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, Bihar, India, August 2026: 10 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 21 to 23 August 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-08-bihar-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.