HamariHawa

Prayagraj's air today: where the smoke is coming from

Prayagraj's smoke report

Loading today's air reading…

Right now the wind over Prayagraj blows from the north-east at 19 km/h (weather model, 30 October, 08:15 IST). None of the 3 fires seen within 250 km in the 24 hours to 30 October, 04:18 IST lie upwind, so the wind is not carrying their smoke here right now.

Ranks among the cities with pages here that have any of each: #1 has the most.

Map of the fires around the city, last 24 hours

Each dot is one fire a NASA satellite saw. Red dots are upwind, in the direction the wind is coming from, so their smoke is the likeliest to be reaching the city now; grey dots are in other directions. The moving lines show the wind blowing towards the city. Tap a dot for the village and the time.

north: 22north-east: 00east: 00south-east: 00south: 00south-west: 00west: 00north-west: 11NESW

Fires within 250 km in the last 24 hours, by direction. Red: the side the wind is coming from (the north-east). Tap a direction to pick out its fires on the map.

What satellites see around Prayagraj

What satellites and surveys see around the city. Each is a different measure, so they can't be added up into shares of the air.

Fires around Prayagraj in the last 30 days

The busiest of the last 29 days was 26 October, with 150 fire spots within 250 km, 6 of them within 50 km.

30 September: no data30 September1 October: 14 · 02 October: 15 · 03 October: 24 · 04 October: 29 · 05 October: 22 · 16 October: 16 · 07 October: 28 · 08 October: 35 · 09 October: 32 · 010 October: 43 · 011 October: 25 · 012 October: 25 · 013 October: 2 · 014 October: 89 · 115 October: 45 · 015 October16 October: 38 · 017 October: 29 · 018 October: 106 · 019 October: 85 · 020 October: 78 · 421 October: 95 · 422 October: 47 · 123 October: 96 · 124 October: 118 · 425 October: 141 · 426 October: 150 · 627 October: 110 · 328 October: 40 · 029 October: 4 · 029 October150

within 250 km   within 50 km

1,581fire spots within 250 km in the last 29 days
29of them within 50 km
72%of the last 7 days' fires within 250 km were on farmland, the pattern of crop-residue burning

A fire spot is one fire seen on a day, however many satellites saw it (Pakistan-time days). The archive runs every day from 1 October 2026; before that it holds only the October-November seasons.

NO₂ pollution in Prayagraj: traffic, industry and power plants

Over the last 14 days the air over Prayagraj held 1.29 times the region's usual level of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), #49 of 58 cities.

1×30 September: 1.09×1 October: 1.1×2 October: 1.11×5 October: 1.21×8 October: 1.25×11 October: 1.19×13 October: 1.23×16 October: 1.21×19 October: 1.2×22 October: 1.24×25 October: 1.28×27 October: 1.28×28 October: 1.29×30 September28 October

The strongest NO₂ peak within 35 km was 1.9 times the usual level, 34 km from the city centre, near a power or industrial plant (Power plant).

From Sentinel-5P's TROPOMI instrument via NASA's GIBS tiles, which publish NO₂ as colour bands: a level here is good to about one band. NO₂ in big cities comes mostly from vehicle engines; peaks are named after what is nearby, which suggests a source but doesn't measure one. NO₂ window 15 October to 28 October 2026.

Brick kilns

985 brick kilns stand within 50 km of Prayagraj.

10 brick kilns in one patch, 22 km west of the centre. Each oval is a kiln.
Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics
18%are the cleaner zigzag kind
#8 of 34 citiesby brick kilns within 50 km, among the cities the kiln surveys cover

Landfills

Satellites and aircraft have measured methane rising from Thakur ka Pura, 7 km from the centre, 3 times, about 650 kg an hour. That puts it #27 of the 58 measured landfills in Pakistan and India.

Thakur ka Pura from above, 7 km south-west of the centre
Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics
3methane plumes measured
4 December 2024last measured
2landfills and dump sites mapped within 50 km

Rank among the 58 landfill records with a measured rate in Carbon Mapper's data for Pakistan and India (this extract covers only these two countries). Rates are Carbon Mapper's automatic per-plume estimates; landfill methane also carries the smell and smoke of burning rubbish.

Power plants and industry

3 fossil-fuel power plants and 46 industrial areas lie within 50 km of Prayagraj. Carbon Mapper has measured CO₂ plumes from 2 plants here, about 1,289 tonnes an hour. The largest, Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Station, can generate 1,980 MW.

Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Station from above, 33 km south-west of the centre
Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics
Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Station coal, 33 km1,980 MW
Meja Thermal Power Station coal, 34 km1,320 MW
Abhavani Steels Power plant coal, 45 km40 MW

Within 50 km of the city centre, on either side of the border. These are lists of what is there, not measures of how much each adds to the air.

Every mapped source within 50 km of Prayagraj

Tap a layer to hide it, or a site for its name.

Brick-kiln surveys, OpenStreetMap, Carbon Mapper and NASA FIRMS, on either side of the border. These map what is there, not how much each adds to the air. /sites/ · Site lists built 26 October 2026.

Fires around Prayagraj this season compared with past years

Fire spots within 250 km of Prayagraj from 1 October to 29 October, each year. These count Suomi NPP alone, so every year is measured by the same instrument and the years compare fairly (the 30-day chart above counts all five satellites, three VIIRS and two MODIS, so its numbers are higher).

2019: 18718720192020: 59459420202021: 34634620212022: 33433420222023: 50750720232024: 44844820242025: 45845820252026: 526526*2026 (so far)

* 2026: 1 day without Suomi NPP data: a floor

Prayagraj against the other cities

Each strip holds the cities with pages here that have any of it, the most on the left; the red mark is Prayagraj. They are different measures, so a high rank on one isn't a larger share of the air than a high rank on another.

Fire spots within 250 km, last 24 hours (3)#55 of 57
Fire spots within 250 km, last 30 days (1,581)#36 of 58
NO₂, times the usual level (14 days) (1.29×)#49 of 58
Brick kilns within 50 km (985)#8 of 34
Fossil-fuel power plants within 50 km (3)#12 of 35
Landfill methane within 50 km (650 kg/h)#25 of 34
Measured plant CO₂ within 50 km (1,289 t/h)#2 of 22
Industrial areas within 50 km (46)#44 of 58

All the rankings: city rankings

Send this to someone in Prayagraj

Pasted into WhatsApp or X, the link shows this map of the fires and the wind, redrawn every few hours.

Prayagraj: the last 24 hours of fires within 250 km and the wind

Prayagraj air today: where the smoke is coming from
hamarihawa.org

All the numbers

Every table behind this page.

Fires within 250 km by direction, last 24 hours
From theFires
north2
north-east (the wind is coming from here)0
east0
south-east0
south0
south-west0
west0
north-west1
Fires within 250 km in the last 7 days
DistrictProvince or stateCountryDistanceFiresOn farmland
SingrauliMadhya PradeshIndia160 km714%
FatehpurUttar PradeshIndia106 km7096%
SatnaMadhya PradeshIndia159 km5784%
Kanpur DehatUttar PradeshIndia222 km4498%
Bara BankiUttar PradeshIndia181 km39100%
GorakhpurUttar PradeshIndia206 km3348%
KaushambiUttar PradeshIndia53 km3297%
UnnaoUttar PradeshIndia176 km2492%
HardoiUttar PradeshIndia244 km2090%
KanpurUttar PradeshIndia205 km1861%
Fires around Prayagraj this season compared with past years
SeasonFire spots
2019187
2020594
2021346
2022334
2023507
2024448
2025458
2026 (so far)526 (1 day without Suomi NPP data: a floor)
Landfill methane records
SiteMethanePlumes seenLast seenRank
Thakur ka Pura (Prayagraj, India, 7 km)650 kg/h34 December 202427 of 58

Rank among the 58 landfill records with a measured rate in Carbon Mapper's data for Pakistan and India (this extract covers only these two countries). Rates are Carbon Mapper's automatic per-plume estimates; landfill methane also carries the smell and smoke of burning rubbish.

Every measure and rank

Where Prayagraj stands among the 58 cities with pages here, on each measure. They are different measures, so a high rank on one isn't a larger share of the air than a high rank on another.

MeasurePrayagrajRank
Fire spots within 250 km, last 30 days1,58136 of 58
NO₂, times the usual level (14 days)1.29×49 of 58
Landfill methane within 50 km650 kg/h25 of 34
Measured plant CO₂ within 50 km1,289 t/h2 of 22
Brick kilns within 50 km9858 of 34
Industrial areas within 50 km4644 of 58
Always-hot sites within 50 km0–
Ranks on today's fires

Prayagraj's place among the cities, on the numbers that change with each satellite pass.

  • Fire spots upwind, last 24 hours: 0
  • Fire spots within 250 km, last 24 hours: 55 of 57
  • Fire spots within 250 km, last 7 days: 36 of 58

All the rankings: city rankings

Questions about Prayagraj's air

Where is Prayagraj's smoke coming from today?

Right now the wind over Prayagraj blows from the north-east at 19 km/h (weather model, 30 October, 08:15 IST). None of the 3 fires seen within 250 km in the 24 hours to 30 October, 04:18 IST lie upwind, so the wind is not carrying their smoke here right now.

Are crop fires burning near Prayagraj?

In the last 24 hours NASA's satellites saw 3 fire spots within 250 km of Prayagraj, and 1,581 in the last 30 days. Satellites only see what is burning as they pass, and not under cloud.

How bad is traffic pollution in Prayagraj?

Over the 14 days 15 October to 28 October 2026, nitrogen dioxide in the air over Prayagraj (within 15 km) was about 1.29 times the usual level of the surrounding region, roughly 2.54 ×10¹⁵ molecules/cm². Of the 58 cities with enough clear days, it ranks 49.

How many brick kilns are there near Prayagraj?

The satellite surveys count 985 brick kilns within 50 km of Prayagraj.

Which landfills near Prayagraj release methane?

Carbon Mapper has measured methane plumes from Thakur ka Pura (650 kg/h).

Every number on this page is also in machine-readable form (JSON).

More about Prayagraj

Nearby cities: Varanasi (114 km), Lucknow (181 km), Kanpur (189 km), Patna (331 km)

Fires up to 30 October, 04:18 IST. This page updates every 15 minutes. Upwind is a guide, not proof: smoke can travel further than 250 km, the wind turns during the day, and satellites can't see fires under cloud. A fire spot is one fire, about 375 m across, however many satellites saw it. Fires: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS and MODIS). Wind: Open-Meteo's weather model. Air: Copernicus CAMS model estimates, which read low in winter.