SmogRank / Episodes / India

North-western India, 8 to 10 September 2026

For 3 days, from 8 to 10 September 2026, 9 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Panipat, Haryana, India: 139.0 µg/m³ on 8 September, about 2.2× its usual 64.2.

No cause namedWe have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached9in 1 country
Days38 to 10 September 2026
Worst day8 September5 cities counted
Furthest above usual3.0×Fatehābād

Day by day

8 September 5 cities at twice their usual or more
KaithalThānesarPatiālaJīndAmbālaGobindgarhYamuna NagarMohaliKhannaPanchkulaChandigarhRohtakHisarRoparBhiwāniBaddiBāghpatNarelaBahadurgarhMuzaffarnagarCharkhi DādriNajafgarhLoniDelhiSirsaGurugramMeerutGhāziābādAya NagarNoidaMānesarDera MāndiDhāruheraDādriBhiwadiHāpurGreater NoidaRishīkeshNarnaulPalwalBulandshahrJhunjhunūnKhurjaHanumāngarhChūruAlwarAmritsarMorādābādVrindāvanSri GanganagarSīkarLahoreGujranwalaBareillyBikanerFaisalabadFaridabadPanipatJalandharSonīpatBawānaDehradunBathindaKarnālFatehābād
5 Sep678910111213
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

PanipatPanipat, 5 September: 31.8 µg/m³Panipat, 6 September: 99.5 µg/m³Panipat, 7 September: 95.9 µg/m³Panipat, 8 September: 139.0 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 64.2Panipat, 9 September: 106.0 µg/m³Panipat, 10 September: 109.0 µg/m³Panipat, 11 September: 158.0 µg/m³Panipat, 12 September: no readingPanipat, 13 September: 65.9 µg/m³KarnālKarnāl, 5 September: 18.6 µg/m³Karnāl, 6 September: 40.4 µg/m³Karnāl, 7 September: 31.1 µg/m³Karnāl, 8 September: 78.8 µg/m³, 2.9× its usual 27.2Karnāl, 9 September: 25.2 µg/m³Karnāl, 10 September: 27.7 µg/m³Karnāl, 11 September: 33.8 µg/m³Karnāl, 12 September: 25.6 µg/m³Karnāl, 13 September: 25.8 µg/m³JalandharJalandhar, 5 September: 37.1 µg/m³Jalandhar, 6 September: 25.4 µg/m³Jalandhar, 7 September: 39.3 µg/m³Jalandhar, 8 September: 68.9 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 30.1Jalandhar, 9 September: 47.0 µg/m³Jalandhar, 10 September: 24.6 µg/m³Jalandhar, 11 September: 52.3 µg/m³Jalandhar, 12 September: 52.1 µg/m³Jalandhar, 13 September: 58.9 µg/m³FatehābādFatehābād, 5 September: no readingFatehābād, 6 September: 45.3 µg/m³Fatehābād, 7 September: no readingFatehābād, 8 September: 66.9 µg/m³, 3.0× its usual 22.0Fatehābād, 9 September: 55.9 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 26.0Fatehābād, 10 September: 51.1 µg/m³Fatehābād, 11 September: 46.8 µg/m³Fatehābād, 12 September: 26.5 µg/m³Fatehābād, 13 September: 22.8 µg/m³BathindaBathinda, 5 September: 18.0 µg/m³Bathinda, 6 September: 23.6 µg/m³Bathinda, 7 September: 39.1 µg/m³Bathinda, 8 September: 36.0 µg/m³, 2.8× its usual 12.7Bathinda, 9 September: 17.3 µg/m³Bathinda, 10 September: 20.7 µg/m³Bathinda, 11 September: 23.4 µg/m³Bathinda, 12 September: 20.2 µg/m³Bathinda, 13 September: 22.2 µg/m³BawānaBawāna, 5 September: no readingBawāna, 6 September: 30.1 µg/m³Bawāna, 7 September: 73.0 µg/m³Bawāna, 8 September: 88.9 µg/m³Bawāna, 9 September: 101.0 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 44.5Bawāna, 10 September: 99.9 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 45.4Bawāna, 11 September: no readingBawāna, 12 September: no readingBawāna, 13 September: 48.5 µg/m³SonīpatSonīpat, 5 September: 21.3 µg/m³Sonīpat, 6 September: 21.5 µg/m³Sonīpat, 7 September: 13.7 µg/m³Sonīpat, 8 September: 25.4 µg/m³Sonīpat, 9 September: 67.9 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 31.2Sonīpat, 10 September: 71.8 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 31.2Sonīpat, 11 September: 46.2 µg/m³Sonīpat, 12 September: 34.6 µg/m³Sonīpat, 13 September: 37.8 µg/m³DehradunDehradun, 5 September: 15.6 µg/m³Dehradun, 6 September: 12.8 µg/m³Dehradun, 7 September: 14.3 µg/m³Dehradun, 8 September: 29.5 µg/m³Dehradun, 9 September: 46.9 µg/m³, 2.6× its usual 18.2Dehradun, 10 September: 42.4 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 18.5Dehradun, 11 September: 19.2 µg/m³Dehradun, 12 September: 11.8 µg/m³Dehradun, 13 September: no readingFaridabadFaridabad, 5 September: 34.0 µg/m³Faridabad, 6 September: 29.7 µg/m³Faridabad, 7 September: 39.8 µg/m³Faridabad, 8 September: 44.5 µg/m³Faridabad, 9 September: 52.5 µg/m³Faridabad, 10 September: 76.3 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 37.6Faridabad, 11 September: 52.2 µg/m³Faridabad, 12 September: 42.9 µg/m³Faridabad, 13 September: 44.8 µg/m³5 Sep678910111213
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
FatehābādHaryana, India2 66.98 September22.03.0×
KarnālHaryana, India1 78.88 September27.22.9×
BathindaPunjab, India1 36.08 September12.72.8×
DehradunUttarakhand, India2 46.99 September18.22.6×
BawānaDelhi, India2 101.09 September44.52.3×
SonīpatHaryana, India2 71.810 September31.22.3×
JalandharPunjab, India1 68.98 September30.12.3×
PanipatHaryana, India1 139.08 September64.22.2×
FaridabadHaryana, India1 76.310 September37.62.0×

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 41 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, 8 to 10 September 2026: 9 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 8 to 10 September 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-09-08-north-western-india (accessed 4 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.