Live · India's air right now
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Every monitored city as a living map — each spike’s height and colour is its live Air Quality Index. Hover or tap a spike to open the city.
Most polluted nowGurugram456Severe · PM2.5Air Quality Index (AQI) Today — India
Live AQI for every Indian city we track, grouped by pollution level with PM2.5 and pollutant data — updated hourly from CPCB.
India air quality — the bigger picture
7-day national trend
▲ 77Average AQI across all reporting cities, last 7 days.
Air by region
Average live AQI across cities in each region.
What's polluting India
Share of cities where each pollutant is the dominant one right now.
Most polluted cities right now
Full ranking →India's metro cities right now
Biggest movers since yesterday
All cities by air quality
View on map →Every city we track right now, grouped by AQI band (worst first). Use the search above or filter by band.
Severe49
Very Poor126
Poor35
Moderate43
Satisfactory39
Good6
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Understanding today's air quality
The Air Quality Index turns a set of pollutant measurements into a single, comparable number from 0 to 500. The higher the number, the more polluted the air and the greater the health concern. India's index, defined by the Central Pollution Control Board, uses six bands — Good, Satisfactory, Moderate, Poor, Very Poor and Severe — each with its own colour and health message, so a glance tells you whether it is safe to be outdoors.
Pollution is not uniform across the country. North Indian cities, especially in the Indo-Gangetic plain, see the sharpest winter spikes, when cool, still air traps emissions from traffic, industry, cooking fuel and seasonal crop-residue burning. Coastal and southern cities generally enjoy cleaner air thanks to sea breezes and fewer inversions. Because levels swing through the day, the ranking above is a snapshot — open any city for its live reading, pollutant breakdown and a plain-English "is it safe to go out?" answer.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the most polluted city in India right now?
Gurugram currently has India’s worst air at AQI 456 (Severe). See the live most polluted cities ranking.
Which is the cleanest city in India today?
Aizawl has the cleanest air of the cities reporting right now, at AQI 27 (Good). See the cleanest cities ranking.
What is a good AQI level?
An AQI of 0–50 is “Good” and 51–100 is “Satisfactory” — the air is generally safe. Above 100 it begins to affect sensitive groups, above 200 most people, and above 300 everyone. See the AQI categories.
What AQI level is considered dangerous?
AQI above 300 (“Very Poor”) is harmful to everyone, and above 400 (“Severe”) is hazardous — avoid outdoor activity and use an N95 mask and air purifier.
What does AQI stand for?
AQI stands for Air Quality Index — a single 0–500 number that summarises how polluted the air is and what it means for health. Learn what the AQI means.
How is the AQI calculated?
Each pollutant’s concentration is converted to a sub-index using CPCB breakpoints, and the overall AQI is the highest of those sub-indices — the “dominant” pollutant. See our methodology.
How often is this data updated?
Every hour. We show 298 Indian cities with a fresh CPCB reading right now; a city is hidden rather than shown with a stale value.
What is PM2.5 and why does it matter?
PM2.5 is fine particulate matter under 2.5 microns — small enough to reach deep into the lungs and bloodstream, and usually the pollutant driving India’s AQI. Why PM2.5 matters.
Where does this data come from?
From Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) monitoring stations, published on the Government of India open-data portal, computed using the national AQI method. See our methodology.