Araria Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

Bihar, India — Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) and PM2.5

Araria AQI Right Now

146

Category: Moderate

Dominant Pollutant: pm25

PM2.5: 73.56 µg/m³

PM10: 100.7 µg/m³

Last updated: 2026-03-24 — Data source: Google Air Quality API (NAQI). Live NAQI values load when you visit the page.

Araria Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.573.56 µg/m³
PM10100.7 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)5.11 µg/m³
NO₂1.44 µg/m³
SO₂7.37 µg/m³
CO670.73 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Araria

Moderate: Breathing discomfort to people with lungs, asthma and heart diseases.

Health Impact — Araria

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 3.3 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.41 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Araria

  • General Population: People with respiratory or heart conditions should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
  • Elderly: Reduce prolonged outdoor activities.
  • Children: Reduce prolonged outdoor play.
  • Lung Disease Patients: Avoid prolonged outdoor exertion.

Understanding Araria Air Quality

Araria lies in the flood-ravaged Kosi River basin of northeast Bihar, a region where the annual cycle of devastating monsoon floods and harsh winter pollution defines daily life. The town's proximity to the Nepal border and its position on the low-lying Kosi alluvial fan mean that moisture levels remain high year-round, creating ideal conditions for the thick winter fog that blankets the area from November through February. This persistent fog layer acts as a lid, trapping smoke from the near-universal household dependence on dung cakes, firewood, and crop residues for cooking and heating.

The winter months bring the worst air quality, with PM2.5 concentrations climbing sharply as brick kilns on the town's outskirts fire up for the dry season, post-harvest jute and rice stubble burning sends plumes of smoke drifting across the district, and vehicular exhaust from trucks on the Araria-Forbesganj highway accumulates under still conditions. The Kosi basin's exceptionally flat topography-formed by millennia of flood deposits-provides no wind channelling or elevation change to assist natural ventilation. On the worst December mornings, visibility drops below fifty metres and the air carries a distinctly acrid tang of smouldering biomass.

The Kosi River's monsoon floods, while catastrophic for infrastructure and livelihoods, paradoxically deliver the cleanest air of the year. Torrential rainfall between June and September-often exceeding 1,400 mm-scrubs the atmosphere of suspended particles, and the warm humid air prevents any inversion formation. As floodwaters recede in October, a brief window of clean air opens before the winter pollution cycle recommences. Araria's isolation from industrial centres means its pollution is overwhelmingly combustion-driven, making household fuel transition to LPG the single most impactful intervention for air quality improvement.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Domestic biomass burning
  • Brick kilns
  • Agricultural crop burning
  • Vehicle exhaust
  • Open waste burning

Geography: Northeast Bihar town in the flood-prone Kosi River basin near the Nepal border; low-lying alluvial terrain with severe winter fog

Peak pollution months: November, December, January, February

Frequently Asked Questions — Araria

How do Kosi River floods affect Araria's air quality?

While the Kosi floods devastate Araria's infrastructure, they actually improve air quality. Heavy monsoon rainfall scrubs particulates from the atmosphere, submerges brick kilns forcing them offline, and the warm moist air prevents temperature inversions. The flood season from July to September typically records the best AQI readings of the year in Araria.

What causes winter pollution in Araria?

Araria's winter pollution is driven primarily by domestic biomass burning-most households burn dung cakes, firewood, and crop residues for cooking and heating. Brick kiln emissions, post-harvest agricultural burning, and vehicular exhaust compound the problem. The flat Kosi basin terrain and persistent fog trap these pollutants near ground level from November through February.

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