Panipat Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

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

Panipat AQI Right Now

147

Category: Moderate

Dominant Pollutant: pm25

PM2.5: 74.06 µg/m³

PM10: 142.99 µg/m³

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

Panipat Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.574.06 µg/m³
PM10142.99 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)15.53 µg/m³
NO₂15.58 µg/m³
SO₂2.24 µg/m³
CO656 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Panipat

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

Health Impact — Panipat

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 3.4 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.42 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Panipat

  • 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 Panipat Air Quality

Panipat, historically known as the City of Weavers and site of three pivotal battles in Indian history, today faces an air quality challenge driven by its textile recycling industry, oil refinery, and location in the heart of India's crop-burning belt. The city is India's largest centre for the shoddy industry - recycling used clothing and textile waste into blankets, carpets, and yarn. This process involves shredding, carding, and re-spinning fibres that release significant textile dust, synthetic fibre particulates, and chemical emissions from dye residues. Thousands of small-scale units operating in congested industrial areas contribute to persistently elevated PM levels.

The October–January period brings catastrophic air quality as multiple pollution sources converge. Crop residue burning in surrounding Haryana and Punjab rice fields sends massive smoke plumes over Panipat, with the city sitting directly in the stubble-burning corridor between Karnal and Delhi. Simultaneously, the IOCL Panipat Refinery - one of India's largest petroleum refineries, processing 15 million tonnes per annum - adds an industrial emission baseline of SO2, NOx, and VOCs. Winter temperature inversions on the flat Indo-Gangetic Plain trap all these emissions, and PM2.5 frequently exceeds 250 µg/m³ during smog episodes. The GT Road (NH-1/NH-44), India's busiest freight corridor, passes through the city, contributing heavy vehicular pollution.

Summer (April–June) brings hot, dry conditions with dust storms from the west, but better atmospheric mixing reduces PM2.5 below winter peaks. The monsoon (July–September) provides relief through rainfall and cleaner air masses. Panipat's proximity to Delhi means it is affected by the same regional pollution dynamics that plague the entire NCR - it is both a contributor to and victim of the wider Indo-Gangetic pollution crisis.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Vehicle exhaust
  • Textile recycling and shoddy industry emissions
  • Oil refinery emissions (IOCL)
  • Road dust
  • Crop residue burning
  • Construction dust

Geography: NCR region on GT Road; India's City of Weavers (textile recycling hub), IOCL refinery, flat Indo-Gangetic Plain

Peak pollution months: October, November, December, January

Frequently Asked Questions — Panipat

How does Panipat's textile recycling industry affect air quality?

Panipat's shoddy (textile recycling) industry - India's largest, with thousands of units - shreds, cards, and re-spins used clothing into new products. This process releases textile fibre dust, synthetic microparticulates, and chemical emissions from dye residues. Workers and nearby residents face elevated PM2.5 and VOC exposure, particularly in the densely packed industrial zones of the old city.

Does the IOCL refinery significantly impact Panipat's air?

The IOCL Panipat Refinery, processing 15 million tonnes of crude annually, emits SO2, NOx, and VOCs from refining operations. While modern emission controls limit the direct impact, flaring episodes and process upsets can cause localised spikes. The refinery's location upwind of residential areas during prevailing wind conditions means its emissions contribute to the city's baseline pollution.

Air Quality in Nearby Cities