Kushinagar Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

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

Kushinagar AQI Right Now

111

Category: Moderate

Dominant Pollutant: pm10

PM2.5: 51.7 µg/m³

PM10: 115.88 µg/m³

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

Kushinagar Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.551.7 µg/m³
PM10115.88 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)5.45 µg/m³
NO₂4.07 µg/m³
SO₂10.55 µg/m³
CO362.95 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Kushinagar

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

Health Impact — Kushinagar

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 2.4 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.27 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Kushinagar

  • 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 Kushinagar Air Quality

Kushinagar is primarily a pilgrimage destination in Kushinagar district, where religious significance shapes the character of the city and, unusually, some of its air quality challenges.

Temple incense burning, diyas (oil lamps), ritual fires, and the concentrated vehicle traffic of pilgrimage season contribute to Kushinagar's unique pollution profile. However, the dominant air quality drivers are regional: agricultural burning from surrounding fields, brick kilns, and the winter inversion pattern of the Gangetic Plain affect Kushinagar just as they affect all east-central UP cities.

Winter months (November–February) bring the worst air quality, when atmospheric inversions trap emissions from agricultural burning, vehicle exhaust, biomass burning at ground level. During peak pilgrimage seasons, the added vehicle and ceremonial combustion can push AQI briefly into the Severe category. The monsoon (July–September) brings relief as flooding of nearby rivers and heavy rainfall clears ambient pollutants.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Agricultural burning
  • Vehicle exhaust
  • Biomass burning
  • Brick kilns
  • Pilgrimage construction
  • Road dust

Geography: where Gautama Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana (died); Mahaparinirvana Temple; international Buddhist Circuit; airport development underway

Peak pollution months: November, December, January, February

Frequently Asked Questions — Kushinagar

When is air quality worst in Kushinagar?

Air quality in Kushinagar is at its worst during November through February, when winter temperature inversions over the Gangetic Plain trap emissions from agricultural burning, vehicle exhaust, and biomass burning near the surface. The combination of post-kharif agricultural burning (October–November), brick kiln activation, and cold inversion episodes creates PM2.5 readings that frequently exceed 150 µg/m³ and sometimes approach 300 µg/m³ during the most severe episodes.

What are the main air pollution sources in Kushinagar?

Kushinagar's main pollution sources are: agricultural burning, vehicle exhaust, biomass burning, brick kilns. Like most Uttar Pradesh cities, the seasonal pattern is defined by agricultural burning cycles (kharif in October–November, rabi in April–May), year-round brick kiln operations during the dry season (October–April), and persistent biomass burning for domestic energy. The Buddhist pilgrimage economy activities add a distinctive industrial or agricultural dimension specific to Kushinagar.

Air Quality in Nearby Cities