VARANASI: The city's air quality index reached 134, in the Moderate category, in the Central Pollution Control Board's bulletin for Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 4 pm IST. The new reading puts Varanasi above the Satisfactory category recorded in the November 1 bulletin, as reported earlier on dalimss.news. PM10 was the prominent pollutant in the latest city reading.
Residents planning outdoor time at Assi Ghat, or journeys through neighbourhoods such as Bhelupur, should check the latest official reading when making plans. The November 4 figure represents a city average from three of four monitoring stations. It is not a separate measurement for either locality, and the bulletin warns that pollution can vary across locations.
CPCB's health statement for Moderate air quality identifies possible breathing discomfort for people with lung disease, asthma and heart disease. Those residents should take that category into account when planning outdoor activity and check the official station information relevant to their destination. The bulletin is an air-quality summary rather than a medical assessment of an individual's symptoms.
What changed in the latest bulletins
The November 4 official bulletin reports Varanasi at 134, compared with 132 on November 3. That is a rise of two index points. Both readings fall in the same Moderate category, so the latest daily increase did not itself represent another change of category.
The larger change occurred between November 2 and November 3. Varanasi was at 85, Satisfactory, in the November 2 bulletin, before reaching 132 the following day. Across the three published readings, the index rose by 49 points. Each bulletin is dated at 4 pm and describes its figures as averages of the preceding 24 hours.
| Bulletin, 4 pm IST | Varanasi AQI | Category | Prominent pollutant | Stations reporting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2, 2026 | 85 | Satisfactory | PM10 | 3 of 4 |
| November 3, 2026 | 132 | Moderate | PM10 | 3 of 4 |
| November 4, 2026 | 134 | Moderate | PM10 | 3 of 4 |
PM10 appears as the prominent pollutant in all three Varanasi rows. The city AQI number is an index value, not a concentration in micrograms per cubic metre. The row does not provide a measured PM10 concentration, and 134 should therefore not be described as a PM10 concentration or as a multiple of a pollution standard.
Moderate is the third of the six categories in CPCB's bulletin. The next band, Poor, begins at 201. Varanasi's recorded 134 does not fall in that band, and the bulletin's stronger statement about discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure applies to Poor air rather than this reading.
Why the station coverage matters
The November 4 row records data from three stations out of a network of four. The same coverage is shown on November 2 and November 3. The city row does not name the station without sufficient data or explain its absence, so it cannot establish a particular station's equipment failure.
CPCB explains in the bulletin that an average is used for cities with multiple monitoring locations. Its note also cautions that air quality can differ between locations and that averaging is used for simplicity despite its scientific limitations. A single city figure therefore cannot show which neighbourhood had the highest reading that day.
Residents comparing a local monitor with this report should check both the place and the timestamp. The 4 pm city bulletin summarises a preceding 24-hour period. A station reading displayed at another time answers a different question. A difference between those numbers does not, by itself, establish that either number is incorrect.
What residents should do
Use the official bulletin archive to check the date before sharing an AQI figure. For a journey or outdoor plan, also look for the relevant monitoring location through CPCB's air-quality services. Keep the category, reporting time and station coverage with the number so that a city average is not circulated as a neighbourhood reading.
The bulletin places 51-100 in the Satisfactory band and 101-200 in Moderate. Its health statement associates Satisfactory air with minor breathing discomfort among sensitive people. The November 4 reading belongs to the next band, whose statement specifically names people with lung disease, asthma and heart disease. That is the official distinction behind the category change.
Earlier reports on the October 30 Good-category reading and the October 27 Moderate-category reading provide dated background. Neither is a substitute for the November 4 bulletin. The new data establish the measured change but do not identify how much individual pollution sources contributed or predict the next day's AQI.
