India · Bihar · 25 cities
Air quality in Bihar today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Sasarām has the cleanest air of the 25 cities we track in Bihar (AQI 92, Moderate), and Bihār Sharīf the worst (AQI 208, Very unhealthy). Kishanganj has the most tree cover, at 43.6% — #58 of 470 cities measured in India.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
AQI 156
Average right now
Unhealthy
- cities tracked
- 25
- average tree cover
- 29.0%
- India: 27.3%
- worst air now: Bihār Sharīf
- 208
- cleanest air now: Sasarām
- 92
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous, and it reads differently from India's AQI (CPCB). Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Bihar · average AQI 156
Air quality today across Bihar, city by city
| Patna | 189Unhealthy | 19.1% | 65.7K | #318 of 470 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaya | 165Unhealthy | 25.0% | 46.8K | #217 of 470 |
| Bhāgalpur | 139Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 24.2% | 29.4K | #234 of 470 |
| Muzaffarpur | 167Unhealthy | 19.5% | 61.6K | #307 of 470 |
| Bihār Sharīf | 208Very unhealthy | 24.6% | 63.8K | #224 of 470 |
| Darbhanga | 168Unhealthy | 29.2% | 32.4K | #150 of 470 |
| Purnia | 102Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 41.0% | — | #68 of 470 |
| Arrah | 184Unhealthy | 31.5% | 26.6K | #127 of 470 |
| Begusarai | 163Unhealthy | 30.6% | 29.4K | #136 of 470 |
| Katihar | 117Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 40.1% | — | #75 of 470 |
| Munger | 152Unhealthy | 41.0% | — | #67 of 470 |
| Chāpra | 151Unhealthy | 28.2% | 34.6K | #162 of 470 |
| Dinapur Nizamat | 189Unhealthy | 20.1% | 43.5K | #299 of 470 |
| Saharsa | 162Unhealthy | 38.4% | 5.0K | #88 of 470 |
| Hājīpur | 185Unhealthy | 37.9% | 6.0K | #93 of 470 |
| Sasarām | 92Moderate | 30.8% | — | #133 of 470 |
| Madhurampur Dehri | 92Moderate | 18.4% | 35.9K | #327 of 470 |
| Siwān | 197Unhealthy | 28.0% | 37.7K | #163 of 470 |
| Bettiah | 206Very unhealthy | 33.3% | 36.6K | #117 of 470 |
| Mothīhāri | 144Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 22.3% | 38.5K | #267 of 470 |
| Bagaha | 166Unhealthy | 23.2% | 41.2K | #249 of 470 |
| Kishanganj | 75Moderate | 43.6% | — | #58 of 470 |
| Jahānābād | 166Unhealthy | 17.9% | 69.4K | #339 of 470 |
| Buxar | 155Unhealthy | 34.5% | 13.6K | #107 of 470 |
| Aurangābād | 158Unhealthy | 22.2% | 55.8K | #270 of 470 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in India.
Is this 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.
India's AQI (CPCB) and the AQI, explainedDeforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bihar lost?
Since 2001, Bihar has lost about 1,380 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (37%). About 619 hectares (45%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,380 haabout 1,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 619 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 52 ha | 92 ha | 143 ha |
| 2002 | 11 ha | 31 ha | 42 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | 15 ha | 26 ha |
| 2004 | 24 ha | 50 ha | 74 ha |
| 2005 | 34 ha | 53 ha | 87 ha |
| 2006 | 19 ha | 46 ha | 65 ha |
| 2007 | 16 ha | 34 ha | 50 ha |
| 2008 | 37 ha | 43 ha | 80 ha |
| 2009 | 177 ha | 107 ha | 284 ha |
| 2010 | 56 ha | 68 ha | 124 ha |
| 2011 | 33 ha | 23 ha | 56 ha |
| 2012 | 44 ha | 59 ha | 103 ha |
| 2013 | 9 ha | 9 ha | 19 ha |
| 2014 | 14 ha | 7 ha | 21 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2017 | 5 ha | 24 ha | 29 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 4 ha | 9 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 15 ha | 2 ha | 17 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 5 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2023 | 20 ha | 22 ha | 43 ha |
| 2024 | 12 ha | 23 ha | 36 ha |
| 2025 | 4 ha | 34 ha | 38 ha |
The worst year was 2009, when about 284 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Bihar?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good37% · 507 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back12% · 166 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good4.9% · 67 ha
Also: towns and roads, logging, shifting farming, wildfires, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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