VARANASI: The city's air quality entered the Poor category at an AQI of 224 in the Central Pollution Control Board bulletin for Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 4 pm IST. This is a new deterioration from the Moderate category, as reported earlier on dalimss.news in its November 5 air quality report. The latest figure calls for residents to reconsider prolonged outdoor exposure.
The city summary includes readings from all four of Varanasi's four monitoring stations and identifies PM2.5 and PM10 as the prominent pollutants. For people planning extended outings in Lanka, around the BHU campus or elsewhere in the city, the important change is the category crossing. The published figure is a city average and cannot establish the air quality on an individual street.
Residents should check the dated official reading before a long outdoor activity and consider shortening prolonged exposure while the Poor category persists. This is a practical precaution based on the board's stated health implication for that category: most people may experience breathing discomfort with prolonged exposure. The bulletin does not announce a local closure, restriction or emergency order.
What changed in the official readings
The November 8 CPCB bulletin puts Varanasi in the 201 to 300 band that defines Poor air quality. The previous two bulletins show that the deterioration was already developing before the latest category change. On November 6, the AQI was 147; on November 7, it was 175. Both readings were Moderate, both listed PM10 as the prominent pollutant, and both included four out of four stations.
| Bulletin date, 4 pm IST | Varanasi AQI | Category | Prominent pollutants |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 6, 2026 | 147 | Moderate | PM10 |
| November 7, 2026 | 175 | Moderate | PM10 |
| November 8, 2026 | 224 | Poor | PM2.5 and PM10 |
The latest value is 49 index points above November 7 and 77 points above November 6. These are changes in the index, not measurements of particle concentration. The November 8 bulletin names both particle sizes among the prominent pollutants, whereas the preceding two city entries named PM10 alone.
The timestamp also matters. CPCB labels the bulletin as an average of the preceding 24 hours at 4 pm. It is therefore not a measurement of the whole of Sunday night. The document cannot show the effect of activity later that evening, or establish how much any particular source contributed to pollution. Those questions require subsequent measurements and separate evidence.
The same bulletin provides a regional comparison at the same reporting time. Prayagraj recorded an AQI of 149, Moderate, with three of three stations contributing. Lucknow recorded 233, Poor, with six of six stations contributing. Varanasi therefore shared Lucknow's category in this bulletin, while Prayagraj remained one category lower.
What residents should do
The health statement changes with the category. For Moderate air, CPCB identifies possible breathing discomfort among people with lung conditions, asthma and heart disease. For Poor air, the statement extends to most people after prolonged exposure. That distinction makes the latest reading relevant beyond households already monitoring a respiratory condition.
For a walk, outdoor practice session or a lengthy visit to a public space, check the current monitoring information and reconsider the duration of exposure. A city summary is useful for that initial decision, but it should not be treated as proof that every locality has identical conditions. CPCB itself cautions that averaging several locations can conceal differences across a city.
The board's explanation of AQI calculation says individual pollutant indices use average concentrations, generally over 24 hours, with eight hour averages for carbon monoxide and ozone. The highest pollutant subindex determines the AQI at a monitoring location. A city AQI of 224 therefore should not be read as a PM2.5 concentration of 224 micrograms per cubic metre.
There is also a minimum data requirement behind the published indices. CPCB says an overall AQI needs data for at least three pollutants, including either PM2.5 or PM10. At least 16 hours of data are required to calculate a pollutant subindex. The four of four station entry describes participation in the city bulletin; it does not mean that every possible pollutant was measured at every station.
Morning fog is a separate forecast
The India Meteorological Department's Varanasi forecast dated November 8 lists shallow fog for Monday, November 9, with a minimum of 17 degrees Celsius and maximum of 30 degrees. It lists clear sky for November 10 to 14. The November 10 temperature range is 17 to 29 degrees, followed by 16 to 29 degrees for November 11 to 14.
Each of those dates carries no weather warning on the city page. That weather status does not change CPCB's separate pollution classification. Residents should read the air quality bulletin alongside the weather forecast, particularly when planning an early departure. The earlier dry weather outlook and November 4 pollution report provide dated background; the November 8 official bulletin supplies the new Poor category reading.
