City report · Bihar, India
Purnia Air quality today
Air quality in Purnia currently reads AQI 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 102
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 36.0
- tree cover
- 41.0%
- trees in this area
- 129K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Shivaji Colony, Purnia, Bihar 854301, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Purnia · AQI 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Purnia's tree count comes to 128,805 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Purnia today: AQI 102, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:30 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Mariam Nagar, Purnia - BSPCB, 1.6 km away
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
36.0
PM10
86.0
NO₂
28.2
O₃
6.2
SO₂
42.7
CO
1.6
Data: OpenAQ · CPCB, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India (GODL-India)
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Purnia's daily AQI at 154 on average, from 121 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 208 on Nov 7.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Purnia stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Purnia: Healthy tree cover
41.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
128,805
Target trees
128,805
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Purnia lost?
There was almost no forest around Purnia in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 1,270 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,420 ha
- Overall change
- +150 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Purnia grew from about 1,270 hectares to 1,420 hectares, a net gain of about 150 hectares (+12%). New forest grew on about 158 hectares, while 9 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Purnia
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Katihar28.4 km
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- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
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- Kishanganj60.1 km
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- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 75
- Rāiganj67.7 km
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- Tree cover
- 60%
- Air quality
- 114
- Biratnagar77.9 km
Nepal
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 153
- Bhāgalpur77.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 139
- Saharsa88.5 km
India
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 162
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Frequently asked
Questions about Purnia
What is the air quality (AQI) in Purnia right now?
The latest reading for Purnia shows an AQI of 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 20:30 local time by the Mariam Nagar, Purnia - BSPCB ground monitoring station, 1.6 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Purnia today?
At AQI 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Purnia been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Purnia's daily AQI at 154 on average, from 121 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 208 on Nov 7. On 7 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Purnia's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Purnia lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Purnia in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Purnia grew from about 1,270 hectares to 1,420 hectares, a net gain of about 150 hectares (+12%). New forest grew on about 158 hectares, while 9 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Purnia?
Purnia has an estimated 128,805 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 41.0% tree cover, already past the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Purnia need?
Purnia has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Purnia's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Shivaji Colony, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Shivaji Colony; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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