Moderate magnitude 4.2 earthquake at 26 km depth3 Jan 00:33 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 5 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeJan 3, 2026 00:28:04 UTC - Local time at epicenterSaturday, Jan 3, 2026, at 12:28 am (Universal Time GMT +0)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.2Depth26 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude27.33°N / 87.87°EWest Sikkim, Koshi, NepalAlso near: India 17.1 km (11 mi) away | China 55 km (34 mi) away | Bhutan 90 km (56 mi) away | Bangladesh 94 km (58 mi) awaySeismic antipode27.33°S / 92.13°WShaking intensityIII Weak shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Estimated seismic energy released1.3 x 1011 joules (35 megawatt hours, equivalent to 30.1 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.2 | about seismic energy6 minutes agoJan 3, 2026 00:28 GMT / Jan 3, 2026 12:28 am (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: 27.33 / 87.87: NepalSource: EMSCDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22568438',27.33000,87.87000,'6 minutes ago: Mag. 4.2, Nepal',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in NepalNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Siliguri, a city with more than 520,000 inhabitants in India, in 88 km (55 mi) distance southeast of the epicenter. People likely experienced very weak shaking there. Many smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, 255 km (158 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake could not be felt.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry39 km (24 mi)E of epicenterGyalshing(pop: 4,010)III: WeakWest Sikkim, SikkimIndia43 km (27 mi)SE of epicenterNaya Bazar(pop: 1,040)III: WeakSoreng, SikkimIndia47 km (29 mi)S of epicenterIlam(pop: 17,500)III: WeakKoshiNepal51 km (32 mi)SE of epicenterDarjiling(pop: 123,800)III: WeakDarjiling, West BengalIndia52 km (32 mi)E of epicenterNamchi(pop: 12,200)III: WeakNamchi, SikkimIndia58 km (36 mi)SE of epicenterMirik(pop: 10,100)III: WeakDarjiling, West BengalIndia64 km (40 mi)SE of epicenterKurseong(pop: 46,400)III: WeakDarjiling, West BengalIndia66 km (41 mi)W of epicenterKhadbari(pop: 22,900)III: WeakSankhuwasabha, KoshiNepal66 km (41 mi)SW of epicenterDhankuta(pop: 22,100)III: WeakKoshiNepal66 km (41 mi)SE of epicenterKalimpong(pop: 43,000)III: WeakWest BengalIndia67 km (42 mi)E of epicenterMangan(pop: 4,640)III: WeakMangan, SikkimIndia68 km (42 mi)E of epicenterRangpo(pop: 10,500)III: WeakPakyong, SikkimIndia79 km (49 mi)E of epicenterRhenok(pop: 5,880)II: Very weakPakyong, SikkimIndia80 km (50 mi)SE of epicenterNaksalbari(pop: 57,300)II: Very weakDarjiling, West BengalIndia82 km (51 mi)SW of epicenterDharan(pop: 173,100)II: Very weakSunsari, KoshiNepal83 km (51 mi)SE of epicenterBagdogra(pop: 17,400)II: Very weakDarjiling, West BengalIndia83 km (52 mi)W of epicenterBhojpur(pop: 3,250)II: Very weakKoshiNepal88 km (55 mi)SE of epicenterSiliguri(pop: 515,600)II: Very weakDarjiling, West BengalIndia90 km (56 mi)S of epicenterBhadrapur(pop: 19,500)II: Very weakJhapa, KoshiNepal93 km (58 mi)SE of epicenterOdlabari(pop: 12,300)II: Very weakJalpaiguri, West BengalIndia95 km (59 mi)SW of epicenterItahari(pop: 48,000)II: Very weakSunsari, KoshiNepal108 km (67 mi)SW of epicenterInaruwa(pop: 70,100)II: Very weakSunsari, KoshiNepal114 km (71 mi)SW of epicenterBiratnagar(pop: 244,800)II: Very weakMorang, KoshiNepal119 km (74 mi)S of epicenterBahadurganj(pop: 37,000)II: Very weakKishanganj, State of BiharIndia120 km (74 mi)SW of epicenterJogbani(pop: 39,300)II: Very weakAraria, State of BiharIndia123 km (76 mi)S of epicenterIslampur(pop: 55,700)II: Very weakUttar Dinajpur, West BengalIndia125 km (77 mi)SE of epicenterJalpaiguri(pop: 107,800)II: Very weakWest BengalIndia128 km (79 mi)SW of epicenterShahbazpur(pop: 38,000)II: Very weakAraria, State of BiharIndia129 km (80 mi)SW of epicenterForbesganj(pop: 50,500)II: Very weakAraria, State of BiharIndia130 km (81 mi)SE of epicenterPanchagarh(pop: 48,500)II: Very weakRangpur DivisionBangladesh131 km (81 mi)SW of epicenterTriyuga(pop: 71,400)II: Very weakUdaipur, KoshiNepal134 km (83 mi)SE of epicenterGoyerkata(pop: 66,400)II: Very weakJalpaiguri, West BengalIndia136 km (85 mi)S of epicenterAraria(pop: 79,000)II: Very weakState of BiharIndia137 km (85 mi)S of epicenterKishanganj(pop: 105,800)II: Very weakState of BiharIndia140 km (87 mi)SE of epicenterDhupgari(pop: 41,200)II: Very weakJalpaiguri, West BengalIndia142 km (88 mi)SW of epicenterRajbiraj(pop: 69,800)II: Very weakSaptari, MadheshNepal153 km (95 mi)SW of epicenterLahan(pop: 103,000)II: Very weakSiraha, MadheshNepal156 km (97 mi)SE of epicenterThakurgaon(pop: 71,100)II: Very weakRangpur DivisionBangladesh158 km (98 mi)E of epicenterJaigaon(pop: 158,700)II: Very weakAlipurduar, West BengalIndia255 km (158 mi)W of epicenterKathmandu(pop: 1,442,300)I: Not feltBagmati ProvinceNepalNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Compare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-01-3EpicenterAgency4.226 km16 mi00:28:04.3NEPALEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 2 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 2 km (1 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Jan 3, 2026 12:28 am (Universal Time)6 minutes ago4.226 km0 km - This quakeNepalMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 56 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 34.3 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 6 or higher: 0.02 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 41.7 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 0.47 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 2.1 years)Mag. 4 or higher: 7 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 27.5 quakes per yearMag. 2 or higher: 34.5 quakes per year (or 2.9 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 3 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 40 to 45 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake