Siwan Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

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

Siwan AQI Right Now

109

Category: Moderate

Dominant Pollutant: pm10

PM2.5: 54.74 µg/m³

PM10: 112.67 µg/m³

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

Siwan Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.554.74 µg/m³
PM10112.67 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)6.85 µg/m³
NO₂10.8 µg/m³
SO₂2.37 µg/m³
CO883.89 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Siwan

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

Health Impact — Siwan

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 2.5 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.29 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Siwan

  • 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 Siwan Air Quality

Siwan is a densely populated district town in north-central Bihar, notable for its extraordinary remittance economy — perhaps the highest per-capita receipt of Gulf worker remittances in Bihar, which has fuelled construction and consumption growth without commensurate industrial development. The town sits on the flat Gangetic plain near the Ghaghara River, surrounded by intensively cultivated rice and sugarcane fields. Siwan's economic paradox — relative prosperity from remittances coexisting with poor public infrastructure — manifests in its air quality: new construction everywhere generates dust, but waste management, road paving, and clean fuel adoption lag behind.

The October–January period is especially problematic. Remittance-funded construction activity continues through the dry winter months, generating persistent dust from concrete mixing, brick cutting, and earth-moving. This overlays the standard north Bihar winter pollution pattern: domestic biomass burning in homes that have not converted to LPG despite improved affordability, brick kiln emissions from dozens of units across the district, and post-harvest burning of rice paddy stubble in October–November. Dense fog from the Ghaghara River basin settles over the flat landscape nightly from November through January, trapping all these emissions in a shallow inversion layer. Vehicular traffic — including an increasing fleet of SUVs and motorcycles purchased with Gulf earnings — adds exhaust on congested town roads.

Monsoon rainfall (June–September) of 1,100–1,300 mm provides effective air quality relief, though Ghaghara flooding can disrupt the district. Pre-monsoon months (March–May) bring intense heat and construction dust. The irony of Siwan's situation is that the remittance wealth that could fund clean fuel transitions and proper waste management has instead primarily driven construction and vehicle growth, inadvertently increasing emission sources.

Primary Pollution Sources

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

Geography: North Bihar near the Ghaghara (Ghaghra) River; known for Gulf remittance economy, high population density, flat Gangetic plain, sugarcane and rice agriculture

Peak pollution months: October, November, December, January

Frequently Asked Questions — Siwan

How does the Gulf remittance economy affect Siwan's air quality?

Siwan's significant Gulf remittance income has fuelled a construction boom (new houses, commercial buildings) and rapid vehicle fleet growth (SUVs, motorcycles), both of which increase pollution. Construction dust from ongoing building projects is a persistent source of PM10, while the growing vehicle fleet adds exhaust emissions. Paradoxically, this relative prosperity has not translated into clean fuel adoption or improved municipal waste infrastructure that could reduce biomass burning and open waste burning.

What causes Siwan's winter fog and pollution?

Siwan's proximity to the Ghaghara River creates high atmospheric moisture that condenses into dense winter fog on the flat Gangetic plain. This fog traps surface emissions from biomass burning (the primary cooking fuel for most households), construction dust from ongoing building activity, brick kiln smoke, and vehicular exhaust. From November through January, multi-day fog episodes with near-zero visibility keep PM2.5 levels persistently elevated.

Air Quality in Nearby Cities