SmogRank / Episodes / India

Western India, September and October 2026

For 2 days, from 30 September to 1 October 2026, 16 cities in India had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Ankleshwar, Gujarat, India: 85.9 µg/m³ on 1 October, about 2.5× its usual 33.7.

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 reached16in 1 country
Days230 September to 1 October 2026
Worst day1 October16 cities counted
Furthest above usual3.9×Tirumala

Day by day

1 October 16 cities at twice their usual or more
KalaburagiSangāreddiPatancheruSerilingampalleHyderabadQuthbullapurGadag-BetageriSāngliHubballiKolhāpurBelagaviAnantapurAhilyanagarKadapaAkolaChik BallāpurAmravatiBadlapurJalgaonMalegaonPanvelVijayawadaNashikKhargharKalyānDhuleBhiwandiThāneMumbaiBengaluruUdupiTirupatiVirārMangaluruNagpurChittoorBoisarMadikeriVapiGummidipundiChennaiNeelankaraiSuratUnderaParbhaniClosepetAmaravatiPuneLaturNandedAurangabadSholapurAmīnpurMahādAnkleshwarPimpri-ChinchwadBhayandarChāndaYadgirTirumala
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

ChāndaChānda, 27 September: 19.0 µg/m³Chānda, 28 September: 28.3 µg/m³Chānda, 29 September: 53.8 µg/m³Chānda, 30 September: 69.3 µg/m³, 3.0× its usual 22.9Chānda, 1 October: 65.3 µg/m³, 2.8× its usual 23.2Chānda, 2 October: no readingChānda, 3 October: no readingChānda, 4 October: no readingAurangabadAurangabad, 27 September: no readingAurangabad, 28 September: 27.8 µg/m³Aurangabad, 29 September: 35.1 µg/m³Aurangabad, 30 September: 57.3 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 28.4Aurangabad, 1 October: 65.9 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 29.3Aurangabad, 2 October: no readingAurangabad, 3 October: no readingAurangabad, 4 October: no readingMahādMahād, 27 September: 20.0 µg/m³Mahād, 28 September: 24.4 µg/m³Mahād, 29 September: 26.6 µg/m³Mahād, 30 September: 49.6 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 21.2Mahād, 1 October: 52.3 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 21.8Mahād, 2 October: no readingMahād, 3 October: no readingMahād, 4 October: no readingNandedNanded, 27 September: 34.5 µg/m³Nanded, 28 September: no readingNanded, 29 September: no readingNanded, 30 September: 46.0 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 22.0Nanded, 1 October: 56.9 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 25.5Nanded, 2 October: no readingNanded, 3 October: no readingNanded, 4 October: no readingAmīnpurAmīnpur, 27 September: no readingAmīnpur, 28 September: no readingAmīnpur, 29 September: no readingAmīnpur, 30 September: 45.0 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 19.6Amīnpur, 1 October: 47.1 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 19.6Amīnpur, 2 October: no readingAmīnpur, 3 October: no readingAmīnpur, 4 October: no readingSholapurSholapur, 27 September: 23.7 µg/m³Sholapur, 28 September: 30.7 µg/m³Sholapur, 29 September: 26.2 µg/m³Sholapur, 30 September: 43.2 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 18.9Sholapur, 1 October: 42.6 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 19.4Sholapur, 2 October: no readingSholapur, 3 October: no readingSholapur, 4 October: no readingPimpri-ChinchwadPimpri-Chinchwad, 27 September: 13.5 µg/m³Pimpri-Chinchwad, 28 September: 17.8 µg/m³Pimpri-Chinchwad, 29 September: 34.5 µg/m³Pimpri-Chinchwad, 30 September: 42.6 µg/m³, 2.6× its usual 16.3Pimpri-Chinchwad, 1 October: 47.1 µg/m³, 2.9× its usual 16.4Pimpri-Chinchwad, 2 October: no readingPimpri-Chinchwad, 3 October: no readingPimpri-Chinchwad, 4 October: no readingBhayandarBhayandar, 27 September: 11.2 µg/m³Bhayandar, 28 September: no readingBhayandar, 29 September: no readingBhayandar, 30 September: 40.3 µg/m³, 2.7× its usual 14.8Bhayandar, 1 October: 45.5 µg/m³, 3.0× its usual 15.2Bhayandar, 2 October: no readingBhayandar, 3 October: no readingBhayandar, 4 October: no readingYadgirYadgir, 27 September: 14.4 µg/m³Yadgir, 28 September: 20.6 µg/m³Yadgir, 29 September: 17.8 µg/m³Yadgir, 30 September: 29.6 µg/m³, 2.9× its usual 10.3Yadgir, 1 October: 36.9 µg/m³, 3.5× its usual 10.4Yadgir, 2 October: no readingYadgir, 3 October: no readingYadgir, 4 October: no readingAnkleshwarAnkleshwar, 27 September: no readingAnkleshwar, 28 September: no readingAnkleshwar, 29 September: 43.0 µg/m³Ankleshwar, 30 September: 61.6 µg/m³Ankleshwar, 1 October: 85.9 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 33.7Ankleshwar, 2 October: no readingAnkleshwar, 3 October: no readingAnkleshwar, 4 October: no readingTirumalaTirumala, 27 September: 28.1 µg/m³Tirumala, 28 September: 39.9 µg/m³Tirumala, 29 September: 43.7 µg/m³Tirumala, 30 September: 49.5 µg/m³Tirumala, 1 October: 61.0 µg/m³, 3.9× its usual 15.5Tirumala, 2 October: no readingTirumala, 3 October: no readingTirumala, 4 October: no readingParbhaniParbhani, 27 September: 61.9 µg/m³Parbhani, 28 September: 38.1 µg/m³Parbhani, 29 September: 36.1 µg/m³Parbhani, 30 September: 47.1 µg/m³Parbhani, 1 October: 56.4 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 27.8Parbhani, 2 October: no readingParbhani, 3 October: no readingParbhani, 4 October: no readingPunePune, 27 September: 16.4 µg/m³Pune, 28 September: 22.5 µg/m³Pune, 29 September: 25.1 µg/m³Pune, 30 September: 31.7 µg/m³Pune, 1 October: 41.0 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 19.5Pune, 2 October: no readingPune, 3 October: no readingPune, 4 October: no readingAmaravatiAmaravati, 27 September: 30.3 µg/m³Amaravati, 28 September: 23.7 µg/m³Amaravati, 29 September: 30.4 µg/m³Amaravati, 30 September: 32.3 µg/m³Amaravati, 1 October: 34.2 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 16.5Amaravati, 2 October: no readingAmaravati, 3 October: no readingAmaravati, 4 October: no readingClosepetClosepet, 27 September: 17.9 µg/m³Closepet, 28 September: 27.0 µg/m³Closepet, 29 September: 19.5 µg/m³Closepet, 30 September: 18.5 µg/m³Closepet, 1 October: 33.6 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 15.8Closepet, 2 October: no readingClosepet, 3 October: no readingClosepet, 4 October: no readingLaturLatur, 27 September: 19.5 µg/m³Latur, 28 September: 19.7 µg/m³Latur, 29 September: 16.8 µg/m³Latur, 30 September: 24.9 µg/m³Latur, 1 October: 32.9 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 14.7Latur, 2 October: no readingLatur, 3 October: no readingLatur, 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
TirumalaAndhra Pradesh, India1 61.01 October15.53.9×
YadgirKarnataka, India2 36.91 October10.43.5×
ChāndaMaharashtra, India2 69.330 September22.93.0×
BhayandarMaharashtra, India2 45.51 October15.23.0×
Pimpri-ChinchwadMaharashtra, India2 47.11 October16.42.9×
AnkleshwarGujarat, India1 85.91 October33.72.5×
MahādMaharashtra, India2 52.31 October21.82.4×
AmīnpurTelangana, India2 47.11 October19.62.4×
SholapurMaharashtra, India2 43.230 September18.92.3×
AurangabadMaharashtra, India2 65.91 October29.32.2×
NandedMaharashtra, India2 56.91 October25.52.2×
LaturMaharashtra, India1 32.91 October14.72.2×
PuneMaharashtra, India1 41.01 October19.52.1×
AmaravatiAndhra Pradesh, India1 34.21 October16.52.1×
ClosepetKarnataka, India1 33.61 October15.82.1×
ParbhaniMaharashtra, India1 56.41 October27.82.0×

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 14 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, Western India, September and October 2026: 16 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 30 September to 1 October 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-09-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.