SmogRank / Episodes / India

North-western India, 30 September to 1 October 2026

For 2 days, from 30 September to 1 October 2026, 8 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Mandideep, Madhya Pradesh, India: 86.3 µg/m³ on 30 September, about 2.3× its usual 37.1.

Few fires were detected near these cities on those days. Spreads like this usually come from still weather trapping smoke from heating, traffic and industry, or from dust.
Cities reached8in 1 country
Days230 September to 1 October 2026
Worst day1 October7 cities counted
Furthest above usual2.8×Damoh

Day by day

1 October 7 cities at twice their usual or more
KarauliGwaliorBārānDausaBharatpurTonkJhānsiAgraKotaBūndiJhālāwārFīrozābādJaipurAlwarPalwalBhiwadiDhāruheraNarnaulMānesarFaridabadDera MāndiGurugramAya NagarBulandshahrGreater NoidaSaugorAjmerBhilwaraDādriNoidaSīkarNajafgarhBhopalDelhiGhāziābādBahadurgarhChittorgarhCharkhi DādriLoniJhunjhunūnHāpurBawānaNarelaBāghpatRohtakSonīpatPratāpgarhMeerutDewasKanpurBareillyMorādābādRatlāmRājsamandIndoreHisarBānswāraNāgaurUdaipurLucknowSatnaPāliJabalpurMaiharDūngarpurNandriJodhpurBikanerSirohiGandhinagarChūruDhaulpurKhurjaBhiwāniMandideepSawai MadhopurVrindāvanDamoh
27 Sep2829301 Oct234
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

MandideepMandideep, 27 September: 34.1 µg/m³Mandideep, 28 September: 49.8 µg/m³Mandideep, 29 September: 67.2 µg/m³Mandideep, 30 September: 86.3 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 37.1Mandideep, 1 October: 78.4 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 37.7Mandideep, 2 October: no readingMandideep, 3 October: no readingMandideep, 4 October: no readingVrindāvanVrindāvan, 27 September: 13.5 µg/m³Vrindāvan, 28 September: 24.9 µg/m³Vrindāvan, 29 September: 29.1 µg/m³Vrindāvan, 30 September: 64.4 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 27.0Vrindāvan, 1 October: 67.2 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 27.4Vrindāvan, 2 October: no readingVrindāvan, 3 October: no readingVrindāvan, 4 October: no readingBhiwāniBhiwāni, 27 September: 18.4 µg/m³Bhiwāni, 28 September: 16.8 µg/m³Bhiwāni, 29 September: 30.6 µg/m³Bhiwāni, 30 September: 55.7 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 25.9Bhiwāni, 1 October: 57.7 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 27.6Bhiwāni, 2 October: no readingBhiwāni, 3 October: no readingBhiwāni, 4 October: no readingSawai MadhopurSawai Madhopur, 27 September: 22.9 µg/m³Sawai Madhopur, 28 September: 23.9 µg/m³Sawai Madhopur, 29 September: 33.4 µg/m³Sawai Madhopur, 30 September: 50.8 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 20.3Sawai Madhopur, 1 October: 50.1 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 20.3Sawai Madhopur, 2 October: no readingSawai Madhopur, 3 October: no readingSawai Madhopur, 4 October: no readingDamohDamoh, 27 September: no readingDamoh, 28 September: no readingDamoh, 29 September: no readingDamoh, 30 September: 48.2 µg/m³, 2.8× its usual 17.2Damoh, 1 October: 44.0 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 18.3Damoh, 2 October: no readingDamoh, 3 October: no readingDamoh, 4 October: no readingChūruChūru, 27 September: 16.8 µg/m³Chūru, 28 September: 18.4 µg/m³Chūru, 29 September: 27.7 µg/m³Chūru, 30 September: 38.4 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 19.2Chūru, 1 October: 28.1 µg/m³Chūru, 2 October: no readingChūru, 3 October: no readingChūru, 4 October: no readingDhaulpurDhaulpur, 27 September: 14.5 µg/m³Dhaulpur, 28 September: 23.0 µg/m³Dhaulpur, 29 September: 24.6 µg/m³Dhaulpur, 30 September: 55.4 µg/m³Dhaulpur, 1 October: 62.7 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 30.7Dhaulpur, 2 October: no readingDhaulpur, 3 October: no readingDhaulpur, 4 October: no readingKhurjaKhurja, 27 September: 8.2 µg/m³Khurja, 28 September: 18.0 µg/m³Khurja, 29 September: 29.3 µg/m³Khurja, 30 September: 47.8 µg/m³Khurja, 1 October: 54.1 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 25.3Khurja, 2 October: no readingKhurja, 3 October: no readingKhurja, 4 October: no reading27 Sep2829301 Oct234
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 48.230 September17.22.8×
VrindāvanUttar Pradesh, India2 67.21 October27.42.5×
Sawai MadhopurRajasthan, India2 50.830 September20.32.5×
MandideepMadhya Pradesh, India2 86.330 September37.12.3×
BhiwāniHaryana, India2 57.71 October27.62.1×
KhurjaUttar Pradesh, India1 54.11 October25.32.1×
DhaulpurRajasthan, India1 62.71 October30.72.0×
ChūruRajasthan, India1 38.430 September19.22.0×

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 50 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, 30 September to 1 October 2026: 8 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 30 September to 1 October 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-09-30-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. Fire detections from NASA FIRMS; smoke maps from NOAA HMS.