4.9‑magnitude earthquake in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli felt in Delhi
By Shamyak
Published
Headlines on 6 October gave three magnitudes and three different times. We checked the official record: one quake, 13 km deep, at 10:23 pm, and no confirmed second quake near Delhi.
Original report
Figures as recorded by the National Center for Seismology, checked at 00:30 IST on 7 October 2026.
The earthquake felt in Delhi today was centred in Uttarakhand, not in the capital. The National Center for Seismology (NCS) recorded a magnitude 4.9 quake at 22:23:13 IST on 6 October 2026, at a depth of 13 km, about 50 km south of Joshimath in Chamoli district.
Tremors were felt across Delhi-NCR, Noida and Ghaziabad, and in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, Zee News reported. No casualties or damage were reported in the first hours, according to the same report.
That night, the headlines disagreed. Readers searching for answers saw three different magnitudes and at least three different times. We went back to the official record to sort out which numbers hold.
Only one quake is confirmed tonight
The NCS listing shows one quake that matches the shaking felt in Delhi: the 4.9 in Chamoli. Some headlines suggested a separate quake near Delhi. We found no such entry.
Times Now's headline read "Earthquake Of Magnitude 4.4 Hits Delhi". Zee News's web address also carried 4.4, while its headline and text said 4.9 and placed the quake in Uttarakhand. Both appeared the same night as the 4.9 reports.
We could not confirm where the 4.4 figure came from. The NCS page we checked listed no quake in the Delhi region that night. Until a separate event appears in the official record, the 4.4 figure should be treated as unconfirmed.
The nearest recent entry near the capital is a different, smaller event two days earlier.
A smaller quake near Sonipat on 4 October
The NCS recorded a magnitude 3.2 quake near Sonipat, Haryana, about 33 km east-north-east of Rohtak, at 04:35:07 IST on 4 October 2026. Its depth was 5 km.
The NCS entry does not describe it as felt in Delhi, and none of the reports we read linked it to the 6 October shaking. It is a separate event, not a second Delhi quake.
That leaves the question of why the 6 October numbers varied so much.
Three magnitudes, one quake
The figure depends on which agency is quoted and when the report went out:
- 4.9: the NCS, India's official agency for magnitude, depth and location, in its listing and in its post on the quake.
- 5.1: the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), as cited in The Hindu's headline.
- 4.4: Times Now's headline, and Zee News's web address, with no matching NCS entry.
The NCS is India's official source for magnitude, depth and location. The EMSC is an outside agency, and The Hindu's headline named it as the source of 5.1. We did not open that article, so we cannot say whether its text gives other figures.
The clock times were just as scattered.
Reported times ranged from 10:13 pm to 10:30 pm
Outlets gave the time of the quake as 10:13 pm, 10:25 pm and 10:30 pm. The NCS time is 22:23:13 IST, or 10:23 pm.
None of the reports we read explained the gap. For anyone checking whether they felt the same event, the official NCS time is 10:23 pm on 6 October.
Timeline
- 4 October 2026, 04:35 IST: magnitude 3.2 quake near Sonipat, Haryana, depth 5 km, per the NCS.
- 6 October 2026, 22:23 IST: magnitude 4.9 quake about 50 km south of Joshimath, Chamoli, depth 13 km, per the NCS.
- 6 October 2026, late evening: reports carry 4.4, 4.9 and 5.1 as the magnitude, and times from 10:13 pm to 10:30 pm.
- 7 October 2026, 00:30 IST: the NCS listing we checked still shows one matching quake, the 4.9.
How the coverage split
The same event reached readers under very different headlines:
- The Hindu BusinessLine led on the 4.9 Chamoli quake and tremors in Delhi.
- The Hindu led on 5.1, citing the EMSC.
- Times Now led on a 4.4 quake hitting Delhi.
- Zee News carried 4.4 in its web address but 4.9 in Uttarakhand in its headline and text.
- Deccan Herald, The Economic Times and Hindustan Times ran a general line that a quake jolted Delhi-NCR.
See how every outlet covered it
What we don't know yet
- Whether there were aftershocks, or any damage in Chamoli itself. We found no reports of either.
- Where the 4.4 figure came from, and whether any separate quake hit near Delhi in the past three days. The NCS listing we checked shows none.
- Why a quake centred in Chamoli was felt so widely. The sources we read do not explain it, so we have not.
- The NCS gave no aftershock advisory that we found, and no follow-up date.
Questions people are asking
What was the magnitude of the earthquake in Delhi today?
The quake felt in Delhi on 6 October 2026 measured 4.9, according to the NCS. It was centred in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, at a depth of 13 km.
Where was the epicentre?
About 50 km south of Joshimath, in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, the NCS said.
Was there a second earthquake in Delhi?
Not one we could confirm. A 4.4 figure appeared in some headlines, but the NCS listing showed no matching Delhi quake. The nearest recent entry was a 3.2 near Sonipat on 4 October.
Was there any damage?
No casualties or damage were reported immediately, Zee News reported.
Why do outlets report different magnitudes?
They quoted different sources. The NCS recorded 4.9, while The Hindu's headline cited the EMSC's 5.1.
How we did this
We checked the official quake listing on the National Center for Seismology site, then compared it with headlines and reports from 6 October 2026 by Zee News, The Hindu BusinessLine, The Hindu, Times Now and Deccan Herald, plus the stories in our own database. We read The Hindu's report by headline only. The timeline is ours, built from the NCS times.
This story was produced with AI assistance and reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication.
Covered by 6 outlets across the spectrum: 17% left, 50% center, 33% right.
Who is covering this story
- Left-leaning (1): The Hindu
- Center (3): National Center for Seismology, Deccan Herald, The Hindu BusinessLine
- Right-leaning (2): Times Now, Zee News English
Sources
- Earthquake felt in Delhi was a 4.9 quake in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, NCS data shows — National Center for Seismology (center) ·
- Earthquake felt in Delhi was a 4.9 quake in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, NCS data shows — Deccan Herald (center) ·
- Earthquake felt in Delhi was a 4.9 quake in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, NCS data shows — The Hindu (left-leaning) ·
- Earthquake felt in Delhi was a 4.9 quake in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, NCS data shows — The Hindu BusinessLine (center) ·
- Earthquake felt in Delhi was a 4.9 quake in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, NCS data shows — Times Now (right-leaning) ·
- Earthquake felt in Delhi was a 4.9 quake in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, NCS data shows — Zee News English (right-leaning) ·