Surat — Seasonal Pollution Patterns

November is the most polluted month in Surat on average, with a long-run AQI of 198 — firmly in the Moderate band. This is drawn from 1 CPCB monitoring stations across 3 years of daily readings. Through November, residents should expect elevated PM2.5 and PM10, reduced visibility on cooler mornings, and strong recommendations from doctors to limit outdoor exertion, wear well-fitted N95 masks, and run indoor purifiers through evening and overnight hours when pollutant accumulation typically peaks.

July is the cleanest month of the year in Surat, averaging AQI 51 in the Satisfactory band. The months immediately before and after also tend to sit well below the annual mean of 123, so a visit window centred on July is the safest choice for outdoor sightseeing, marathons, school trips and wedding events. Mornings are usually the crispest time to head out; pollution tends to creep up slightly during the evening commute even in the cleanest months. Always cross-check the day-of live AQI before any high-exertion outdoor plan.

The November peak in Surat is driven by a three-way pile-up: shallow temperature inversions that trap local vehicle, industrial and biomass emissions near ground level; regional transport of smoke from crop-residue burning in north India; and festival-day fireworks around Diwali that kick the already-elevated background even higher. The Oct 15 – Nov 15 stubble-burning window carries a 0% Severe-day share, compared with only 0% outside that window. The result is the characteristic winter "pollution bowl" where cool, stagnant mornings see AQI ceilings of 400+ on the worst days.

Across the CPCB record, the week around Diwali in Surat averages AQI 228 — 1.71× the normal October baseline of AQI 133, a spike of 94 AQI points. Firework particulates combine with a cooler, more stagnant late-October atmosphere to produce some of the worst air-quality days of the entire year. Sensitive groups should treat Diwali eve and the two days after as peak-alert days: stay indoors, close windows by evening, run purifiers on high, and reserve any outdoor celebrations for daytime hours when mixing is strongest.

Yes — meaningfully. Surat's core monsoon window (Jul 15 – Sep 15) averages AQI 75, a 39% improvement on the annual mean of 123. Rain removes airborne particulates by wet deposition, and the deeper monsoon boundary layer disperses what remains vertically. Across 141 measured monsoon days we see 80.1% in the Good-or-Satisfactory band.

Between 2022 and 2024, Surat's annual average AQI moved from 222 to 83 — a change of -62.6%. In the most recent year-on-year comparison, the winter season specifically improved by 61.8%. The long-run direction is improving — NCAP policy pressure, cleaner fuels and tighter vehicle standards are showing up.

July is the single best month at AQI 51. Based on the 12-month averages, the three cleanest months in Surat are July (AQI 51), April (AQI 67), June (AQI 81). These are the safest choices for outdoor itineraries, long walks, open-air concerts and day-trips. Sensitive groups can treat these months as near-normal activity windows but should still check live AQI for the specific date. Avoid planning outdoor-heavy trips in November, when the baseline jumps into Moderate territory.

Surat is classified as winter-dominant. Based on a 12-month cosine-similarity index computed across all monitored Indian cities, the city whose seasonal signature most closely resembles Surat's is Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), with its own worst month in November. Cities with similar signatures often respond to similar policy levers — if a neighbouring peer has demonstrated improvements through specific interventions (construction-dust controls, bus electrification, brick-kiln regulation), they are likely candidates for Surat too. The peer-city panel on this page lists the closest four additional matches.