What is Air Quality Index (AQI)?

The air quality in any city is determined by the Air Quality Index (AQI). This indicator is developed by government agencies. To assess a city's AQI, various pollutants are considered. During the evaluation, the concentration of these pollutants in the air is measured. The AQI levels help inform people about whether air pollution is increasing or decreasing. Additionally, it is explained how air pollution can be harmful to people's health and in what ways. When the AQI rises, people are advised to take precautions, such as wearing masks outdoors and using air purifiers indoors.

Most Polluted City/States in India

Updated: November 02, 2024

Rank	City, States	AQI
1	Amritsar, Punjab	335
2	Sonipat, Haryana	334
3	Hajipur, Bihar	326
4	Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh	310
5	Siwan, Bihar	308
6	Chandigarh, Chandigarh	301
7	Delhi, Delhi	298
8	Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh	292
9	Chhapra, Bihar	288
10	Nanded, Maharashtra	284

Source : Centre Pollution Board

Agartala	Agra	Ahmedabad	Ahmednagar
Aizawl	Ajmer	Akola	Alwar
Amaravati	Ambala	Amravati	Amritsar
Anantapur	Angul	Ankleshwar	Araria
Ariyalur	Arrah	Asansol	Aurangabad
Aurangabad	Baddi	Badlapur	Bagalkot
Baghpat	Bahadurgarh	Balasore	Ballabgarh
Banswara	Baran	Barbil	Bareilly
Baripada	Barmer	Barrackpore	Bathinda
Begusarai	Belapur	Belgaum	Bengaluru
Bettiah	Bhagalpur	Bharatpur	Bhilai
Bhilwara	Bhiwadi	Bhiwandi	Bhiwani
Bhopal	Bhubaneswar	Bidar	Bihar Sharif
Bikaner	Bilaspur	Bileipada	Boisar
Brajrajnagar	Bulandshahr	Bundi	Buxar
Byasanagar	Byrnihat	Chamarajanagar	Chandigarh
Chandrapur	Charkhi Dadri	Chengalpattu	Chennai
Chhal	Chhapra	Chikkaballapur	Chikkamagaluru
Chittoor	Chittorgarh	Churu	Coimbatore
Cuddalore	Cuttack	Damoh	Dausa
Davanagere	Dehradun	Delhi	Dewas
Dhanbad	Dharuhera	Dharwad	Dholpur
Dhule	Dindigul	Dungarpur	Durgapur
Eloor	Faridabad	Fatehabad	Firozabad
Gadag	Gandhinagar	Gangtok	Gaya
Ghaziabad	Gorakhpur	Greater Noida	Gummidipoondi
Gurugram	Guwahati	Gwalior	Hajipur
Haldia	Hanumangarh	Hapur	Hassan
Haveri	Hisar	Howrah	Hubballi
Hyderabad	Imphal	Indore	Jabalpur
Jaipur	Jaisalmer	Jalandhar	Jalgaon
Jalna	Jalore	Jhalawar	Jhansi
Jhunjhunu	Jind	Jodhpur	Jorapokhar
Kadapa	Kaithal	Kalaburagi	Kalyan
Kanchipuram	Kannur	Kanpur	Karauli
Karnal	Karur	Karwar	Kashipur
Katihar	Katni	Keonjhar	Khanna
Khurja	Kishanganj	Kohima	Kolar
Kolhapur	Kolkata	Kollam	Koppal
Korba	Kota	Kunjemura	Kurukshetra
Latur	Lucknow	Ludhiana	Madikeri
Madurai	Mahad	Maihar	Malegaon
Mandi Gobindgarh	Mandideep	Mandikhera	Manesar
Mangalore	Manguraha	Meerut	Milupara
Mira-bhayandar	Moradabad	Motihari	Mumbai
Munger	Muzaffarnagar	Muzaffarpur	Mysuru
Nagaon	Nagapattinam	Nagaur	Nagpur
Naharlagun	Nalbari	Nanded	Nandesari
Narnaul	Nashik	Navi Mumbai	Nayagarh
Noida	Ooty	Pali	Palkalaiperur
Palwal	Panchkula	Panipat	Parbhani
Pathardih	Patiala	Patna	Pimpri-chinchwad
Pithampur	Pratapgarh	Prayagraj	Puducherry
Pudukottai	Pune	Purnia	Raichur
Raipur	Rairangpur	Rajamahendravaram	Rajgir
Rajsamand	Ramanagara	Ramanathapuram	Ranipet
Ratlam	Rishikesh	Rohtak	Rourkela
Rupnagar	Sagar	Saharsa	Salem
Samastipur	Sangli	Sasaram	Satna
Sawai Madhopur	Shillong	Shivamogga	Sikar
Silchar	Siliguri	Singrauli	Sirohi
Sirsa	Sivasagar	Siwan	Solapur
Sonipat	Sri Ganganagar	Suakati	Surat
Talcher	Tensa	Thane	Thanjavur
Thiruvananthapuram	Thoothukudi	Thrissur	Tiruchirappalli
Tirunelveli	Tirupati	Tirupur	Tonk
Tumakuru	Tumidih	Udaipur	Udupi
Ujjain	Ulhasnagar	Vapi	Varanasi
Vatva	Vellore	Vijayapura	Vijayawada
Virar	Virudhunagar	Visakhapatnam	Vrindavan
Yadgir	Yamuna Nagar

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good AQI level?

A good AQI level is between 0 and 50, indicating air quality that poses little or no risk to health.

What is the safe range of AQI?

The safe range of AQI is from 0 to 100, covering the categories of "Good" (0-50) and "Moderate" (51-100).

What are the criteria for AQI?

AQI criteria include measuring the concentration of pollutants like PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia over a specified averaging period.

What are the 8 parameters of AQI?

The 8 parameters of AQI are: Particulate Matter (PM10), Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Ozone (O3), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ammonia (NH3), and Lead (Pb).

How is AQI calculated?

AQI is calculated using pollutant concentration data, which is converted into an AQI value for each pollutant through specific formulae. The highest value among these is reported as the overall AQI for the location.