Saharanpur Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

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

Saharanpur AQI Right Now

146

Category: Moderate

Dominant Pollutant: pm25

PM2.5: 73.7 µg/m³

PM10: 160.91 µg/m³

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

Saharanpur Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.573.7 µg/m³
PM10160.91 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)21.81 µg/m³
NO₂14.52 µg/m³
SO₂3.72 µg/m³
CO640.18 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Saharanpur

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

Health Impact — Saharanpur

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 0.41 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Saharanpur

  • 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 Saharanpur Air Quality

Saharanpur, nestled at the foot of the Shivalik Hills in northwestern Uttar Pradesh, is famed throughout India for its exquisite wood carving tradition - an art form dating back centuries that continues to shape the city's economy and, inevitably, its air quality. Thousands of karigars (craftsmen) in the old city's narrow lanes around Lakhi Gate and Court Road work with sheesham, teak, and walnut wood, generating fine sawdust and wood particulates that create a distinctive industrial haze. The city's paper mills along the Dhamola and Hindon river tributaries add cellulose fibres and chemical emissions, while the surrounding sugarcane belt's crushing season (November–March) brings bagasse ash from dozens of sugar mills.

October through January is Saharanpur's worst pollution period. The Shivalik foothills to the north partially trap cold, dense winter air, creating inversions that hold pollutants over the flat city terrain. Crop residue burning from the surrounding paddy and sugarcane fields adds agricultural smoke to the industrial and vehicular base, and PM2.5 regularly exceeds 200 µg/m³ during November and December. Dozens of brick kilns operating on the city's outskirts along the Saharanpur-Dehradun road add further particulate load. Dense winter fog - a signature feature of the Upper Doab region - mixes with emissions to create smog that can reduce visibility to under 50 metres.

The monsoon (July–September) dramatically clears Saharanpur's air, with 1,000+ mm of Shivalik-enhanced rainfall washing out pollutants and bringing AQI to Good levels. Pre-monsoon months (April–June) are moderate, with occasional dust events from the western plains. Saharanpur's proximity to Dehradun and Haridwar means it sits at the transition between the polluted Indo-Gangetic plain and the cleaner Himalayan foothills - a geographic irony that sees clean mountain air just 50 km north while the city itself chokes during winter months.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Vehicle exhaust
  • Wood carving and paper industry
  • Crop residue burning
  • Sugar mill emissions
  • Road dust
  • Brick kilns

Geography: Shivalik foothills in northwestern UP; wood carving and paper industry hub, sugarcane belt, near Uttarakhand border

Peak pollution months: October, November, December, January

Frequently Asked Questions — Saharanpur

How does the wood carving industry affect Saharanpur's air quality?

Saharanpur's centuries-old wood carving industry involves thousands of workshops that generate fine wood dust, sawdust, and lacquer fumes. The carving, turning, and polishing of sheesham and teak wood produces PM10 and PM2.5 particles. Most workshops in the old city (Lakhi Gate, Court Road) lack modern dust extraction systems, allowing wood particulates to spill into residential streets and mix with general vehicular pollution.

Do the Shivalik Hills help or hinder Saharanpur's air quality?

The Shivalik Hills have a mixed effect. During summer and monsoon, they channel clean Himalayan air and enhance rainfall that scrubs pollutants. However, during winter, the foothills act as a partial barrier that traps cold, dense air over the flat city, worsening temperature inversions and preventing northward dispersal of pollution. This foothill trapping effect is a key reason Saharanpur's winter AQI is worse than might be expected for a city near the mountains.

Air Quality in Nearby Cities