Supaul Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

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

Supaul AQI Right Now

170

Category: Moderate

Dominant Pollutant: pm25

PM2.5: 81.04 µg/m³

PM10: 123.2 µg/m³

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

Supaul Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.581.04 µg/m³
PM10123.2 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)4.82 µg/m³
NO₂11.07 µg/m³
SO₂5.16 µg/m³
CO661.38 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Supaul

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

Recommendation: Sensitive groups (children, elderly, people with respiratory conditions) should limit outdoor exposure.

Health Impact — Supaul

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 3.7 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.46 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Supaul

  • 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 Supaul Air Quality

Supaul occupies one of the most hazardous geographical positions in all of India — directly on the Kosi River flood plain in a district that has experienced some of the country's most catastrophic inundations. The 2008 Kosi flood, caused by an embankment breach, displaced over 3 million people and reshaped the district's landscape. This extreme flood vulnerability defines every aspect of Supaul's development, including its air quality: the flat, waterlogged alluvial terrain creates the most intense winter fog conditions in the Kosi basin, while chronic underdevelopment limits clean fuel access and infrastructure investment.

Winter months (October–January) bring severely degraded air quality to Supaul. The mechanism is deeply tied to the flood-plain geography: the extremely high water table and moisture-saturated alluvial soil generate dense, persistent fog that settles over the flat terrain nightly from November and often does not lift until late morning. Under these inversions, smoke from domestic biomass burning — cow dung cakes are the primary fuel in this economically marginalised district — accumulates to hazardous levels. Post-harvest rice burning in October and November adds agricultural smoke, and the district's brick kilns activate during the dry season. Unpaved roads, which constitute the majority of Supaul's road network, contribute fine alluvial dust during dry spells between fog events.

The monsoon (June–September) invariably brings flooding that displaces communities but also delivers the year's cleanest air, with 1,300–1,500 mm of rainfall suppressing all particulate sources. Post-flood recovery through September–October offers a brief transitional period of moderate air quality. Supaul's air quality is inseparable from its broader development crisis — flood resilience, poverty alleviation, and clean energy access are preconditions for any meaningful improvement in ambient air.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Domestic biomass burning
  • Agricultural burning
  • Brick kilns
  • Road dust
  • Vehicle exhaust

Geography: North Bihar on the Kosi River flood plain; one of India's most flood-affected districts, flat alluvial terrain, subsistence agriculture, extremely high water table

Peak pollution months: October, November, December, January

Frequently Asked Questions — Supaul

How do Kosi River floods affect Supaul's air quality cycle?

The Kosi River floods define Supaul's annual air quality cycle. Monsoon flooding (June–September) paradoxically brings the cleanest air as heavy rainfall suppresses all particulate sources and the floods halt brick kiln and agricultural burning activities. Once floodwaters recede (October), the transition to dry conditions initiates the pollution season: rice stubble burning, brick kiln activation, and biomass fuel use all resume, while the flood-plain's extreme moisture creates the dense winter fog that traps these emissions.

Why is Supaul's winter fog so intense?

Supaul sits on the Kosi River flood plain with an extremely high water table and moisture-saturated alluvial soil. These conditions generate exceptional atmospheric moisture that condenses into dense fog on cool winter nights. The completely flat terrain provides no elevation change to generate wind or break up the fog layer. This creates some of the most intense and prolonged fog conditions in the entire Gangetic basin, with visibility often below 50 metres for extended periods from November through January.

Air Quality in Nearby Cities