Baner Hill, Pune — week of 2026-10-12
Earth Pulse Weekly · 2026-10-12 to 2026-10-18 · Baner, Pune

Earth Pulse Weekly: Baner's Air, Birds & Weather | 12 Oct 2026 – 18 Oct 2026

Generated from 4,784+ sensor readings · Published just now · 19 October 2026

44
Pulse Score ⓘ

Stressed week for Baner

The Sahyadri exhaled a sigh of dust this past week, as Baner, Pune, registered a dry spell with no respite from our skies. With 0mm of rain, the air quality, averaging a concerning 64.4 (and never dipping into the 'Good' zone), hung thick and heavy. This stands in stark contrast to the historical October averages, where 8.7mm of rain would typically wash the air clean. Our sensitive instruments detected a Pulse Score of 44, a low hum from a land parched and waiting for the sky's embrace. The heat, peaking at a sweltering 36.79°C, likely contributed to the anxious early risers; our avian neighbours were most vocal at 7:00 IST, perhaps seeking cooler moments in the pre-dawn quiet.

Air quality
14
Bird activity
30
Clean hours
0

🔄 Compared to Last Week

How did this week (2026-10-12 – 2026-10-18) differ from the week before?

💚
Air quality
3 fewer spike-AQI days vs last week — air was noticeably cleaner.
🐦
Bird activity
↑ 108% more detections than last week (+1874 calls) — the soundscape was livelier.
🌿
AQI average
↓ 8% cleaner than last week (70 → 64.4).
🌡️
Temperature range
max +0.8°C, min +0.8°C vs last week.
☀️
Rainfall
Dry this week — last week had 10.8mm.
🌡️
Temperature vs last year
1.9°C warmer than the same week in 2025.

🌿 Ecological Signals This Week

What do the numbers imply about life on Baner Hill? Sensor data interpreted through an ecological lens.

⬆️ Warmer than average temperatures are likely prolonging the dry season, concentrating water-dependent species like the Gray Heron in remaining water bodies.
🌾 The absence of rain and elevated temperatures could be stressing vegetation, impacting insect populations and thus bird foraging patterns.
🌃 With the average AQI at 64.4 and no good hours, nocturnal birds like the Black-crowned Night-Heron might be experiencing altered foraging success due to reduced visibility and potential respiratory stress.

💨 Air Quality — Baner, Pune

AQI range this week (EU scale · 0–100 ⓘ)
Low: 44High: 124
Avg AQI
64.4
EU scale
Good air hours ⓘ
0%
AQI ≤ 40
Spike days ⓘ
1
AQI > 100
Humidity
55%
Peak: 93%

🌡️ Temperature & Rain — Baner, Pune

High
36.79°
°C this week
Low
22.1°
°C this week
Average
29.1°
°C
Total rain
0
mm · 0 days
💨
Dry week insight: No rainfall this week. With 100% of hours at Moderate AQI or above, natural dust-settling from rain was absent. ⓘ
ERA5 Reanalysis · 1980–2021 · 42 years

🕰️ Historical Pulse: Week 42 in Context (1980–2021)

ERA5 ⓘ is a global atmospheric reanalysis that reconstructs daily weather back to 1940. Earth Pulse uses 42 years of ERA5 data (1980–2021) for Baner Hill — giving local context that raw sensor data, which only began in 2022, cannot provide on its own.

Temperature vs 42-year norm
+4°C
vs 25.1°C historical average
Warmest equivalent week on record since 1980
Rainfall vs 42-year norm
-8.7mm
vs 8.7mm historical average
Driest equivalent week observed since 1980

🐦 Birds of the Week — Baner Hill

🌟 Standout species this week
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Detected 272 times this week at Baner Hill — recorded by the acoustic monitoring network.
Read the Black-crowned Night-Heron species profile →
🔊 Most active species
Gray Heron
Ardea cinerea
Dominated the Baner soundscape with 486 detections — 13% of all recordings this week.
Read the Gray Heron species profile →
Total detections
3608
Species heard
95
unique species
Peak hour
7:00 AM
IST

📊 Species Momentum — Baner Hill

How did each species trend compared to last week? ↑ more calls this week · ↓ fewer calls · → stable.

SpeciesThis weekvs last
↑
Gray Heron
Ardea cinerea
486 calls +817%
↑
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
272 calls +61%
↑
Purple Sunbird
Cinnyris asiaticus
263 calls +39%
↑
Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis
244 calls +190%
🆕 Big Movers
↑ Black Drongo · 39 calls (+3800%)
↑ Black Redstart · 19 calls (+375%)
↑ Common Greenshank · 9 calls (+350%)
✦ New Arrivals
✦ Ashy Drongo · 128 calls
✦ Black Drongo · 39 calls
✦ Common Greenshank · 9 calls
✦ Departures
✦ Gray Junglefowl · last week: 7 calls
✦ Spotted Owlet · last week: 6 calls
✦ Indian Peafowl · last week: 5 calls

🆕 New to the Neighbourhood

🎉 First heard this week — not detected in the past 4 weeks
Ashy Drongo
Dicrurus leucophaeus
The acoustic monitors at Baner Hill picked up this species for the first time in recent weeks. A welcome addition to the neighbourhood soundscape.
Meet the Ashy Drongo →

🌳 Tree of the Week — Baner Hill

One of the trees growing on Baner Hill, identified by the Earth Pulse plant monitoring network.

🌳 Identified on Baner Hill
Karanj
Pongamia pinnata
Fabaceae
Karanj is a fast-growing nitrogen-fixing tree native to coastal and riverine habitats of the Indian subcontinent, and a characteristic species of the Western Ghats foothills. Its dense flowering attracts pollinators that support the insect prey base for Baner Hill's insectivorous birds.
💡
Karanj seed oil contains karanjin — a natural insecticide used in traditional Deccan agriculture for centuries before synthetic pesticides existed. The same oil is now being studied as a biofuel feedstock.
See all trees on Baner Hill →

🎵 Soundscape Health — Baner Hill South

Acoustic ecology from baner_south_01 — continuous soundscape monitoring facing Baner Hill. NDSI (Natural Sound Index) measures the balance of biophony (birds, insects, wind) vs anthrophony (traffic, construction, human noise). Higher = healthier soundscape.

NDSI avg this week ⓘ
0.542
Good soundscape · 336 readings
Range: 0.001 – 0.918
Bio vs Anthro balance ⓘ
Biophony
1.2e-5
vs
Anthrophony
4.0e-6
No rain detected in soundscape
🎵
Peak natural soundscape
Highest biophony-to-noise ratio at 4:00 PM IST — when natural sounds dominated most strongly.

✨ Moments That Mattered

🍃
Cleanest air hour
AQI 44
Thu, 15 Oct, 04:00 am
🎶
Peak bird chorus
7:00 AM
Most active hour IST
🌙
Quietest night
AQI 44
Thu, 15 Oct, 04:00 am
🌡️
Warmest night
28.6°C
Sun, 18 Oct

📅 Same Week — Last 4 Years in Baner

Comparing the same dates (2026-10-12 to 2026-10-18) in previous years — all data from Earth Pulse sensor monitoring at Baner Hill.

YearAvg AQIAvg TempRain
2026 ★ 64.4 29.1°C 0mm
2025 64.6 ↑ hazier 27.2°C ↓ cooler 0.2mm
2024 36.7 ✓ cleaner 24.1°C ↓ cooler 66.3mm model
2023 75.1 ↑ hazier 25.1°C ↓ cooler 0.4mm model
2022 45.2 ✓ cleaner 23.1°C ↓ cooler 86.6mm model
Pattern across 4 years
  • AQI averaged 55.4 — this week was 9.0 pts hazier ↑
  • Temperature averaged 24.9°C — this week was 4.2° warmer
  • Typical rain was 38.4mm — this week had 0mm

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Earth Pulse · Baner
44
Pulse Score
Stressed week
2026-10-12 – 2026-10-18
🍃 Cleanest Air Hour · Baner
AQI 44
Thu, 15 Oct, 04:00 am
www.earth-pulse.org
🌟 Bird of the Week · Baner Hill
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
272 detections this week
www.earth-pulse.org

🔮 The Week Ahead — Baner, Pune

🌡️ 21.5–34.1°C 🌦️ 2.5mm ☔ 34% rain probability

This week, the Gray Heron continues its remarkable surge in presence, its booming calls 817% higher than last week, now the most frequently detected bird in our ecosystem. It's joined by new arrivals like the Ashy Drongo and Black Drongo, vibrant flashes of life against the muted backdrop. Yet, the whisper of departure for the Gray Junglefowl, Spotted Owlet, and Indian Peafowl is a somber note in our biodiversity chorus. We watch with hopeful anticipation for the predicted 2.5mm of rain, a fragile promise of relief that might just settle the dust and breathe cleaner air into our vibrant city and the surrounding Western Ghats.

As we look to the coming days, with temperatures predicted to range from a cool 22.1°C to a familiar 36.79°C, the delicate dance between rain, air quality, and species presence continues. The dry air, evident in our AQI readings, highlights a critical ecological connection: the earth’s thirst directly impacts the air we breathe and the symphony of life that surrounds us. Let us listen closely to Earth Pulse, for in these subtle shifts, the Sahyadri whispers its story.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What was the AQI in Baner, Pune this week?

EU AQI in Baner ranged from 44 to 124 this week (2026-10-12 to 2026-10-18), averaging 64.4. Values below 40 are "Good", above 100 are unhealthy. See full AQI history →

Which birds were detected on Baner Hill this week?

Earth Pulse detected 95 bird species at Baner Hill this week using BirdNET acoustic AI — 3608 total calls logged. Standout species: Black-crowned Night-Heron. See all species →

What was the temperature in Baner, Pune this week?

Temperatures in Baner ranged from 22.1°C to 36.79°C this week, averaging 29.1°C. See temperature history →

How unusual was this week's weather compared to historical records in Baner?

Earth Pulse holds 42 years of ERA5 climate reanalysis data for Baner Hill (1980–2021). This week's average temperature of 29.1°C compares to a historical norm of 25.1°C for this period. Explore 45-year climate →

How does this week compare to previous years in Baner?

Earth Pulse has monitored Baner since 2022. For the same week in previous years: 2025: AQI avg 64.6, temp avg 27.2°C, rain 0.2mm · 2024: AQI avg 36.7, temp avg 24.1°C, rain 66.3mm · 2023: AQI avg 75.1, temp avg 25.1°C, rain 0.4mm · 2022: AQI avg 45.2, temp avg 23.1°C, rain 86.6mm. Full climate history →