Highly similar urban and rural air quality in West Bengal, India as revealed by statewide sensor network

The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) suffers from some of the highest air pollution levels in the world. Compared to the upper and central IGP, air pollution in West Bengal, located in the lower IGP, is relatively understudied. This study presents a comprehensive, statewide assessment of air quality across all 23 districts of West Bengal, using India’s first state-commissioned network of 309 sensor stations. Analyzing this large dataset across a more than four-year period (January 2022- June 2026), we compare pollutant trends, source-linked signatures, and dominant pollutant patterns between rural and urban locations. We find that the differences in pollutant concentrations between urban and rural areas are remarkably narrow, averaging just 3.54 μg m -3 for PM 2.5 and 6.40 μg m -3 for PM 10 . These minor differences are smaller than the baseline variations between nearby stations, that is, rural and urban air quality are not significantly different in West Bengal. Urban and rural ambient air quality profiles across all years differ by less than 10% in 19 of 23 districts. Taken together, these findings suggest that regional-scale pollution rivals local sources in West Bengal, challenging city-centric air quality management strategies, and providing support for an airshed approach.