Chandigarh vs Puducherry
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Chandigarh and Puducherry.
Live AQI from Open-Meteo CAMS (~45 km global model, updated hourly). Multi-year history from CPCB station data via aqinow.co pipeline (2016–2024, station-level daily records).
AQI Comparison
Pollutant-level comparison (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO)▾
| Pollutant | Chandigarh | Puducherry |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 46.30 | 16.40 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 63.60 | 19.20 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 30.10 | 18.50 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 10.30 | 8.80 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 64.00 | 37.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 602.00 | 394.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Chandigarh averaged an AQI of 153 while Puducherry averaged 55 — a 98-point (178%) gap, with Chandigarh the more polluted and Puducherry the cleaner of the two. On 1373 days when both cities reported, Puducherry was cleaner on 1294 of them; the average daily gap was 101 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Chandigarh peaks in January, while Puducherry peaks in December. Chandigarh logged 0.3% Severe days and 39.9% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Puducherry was 0% Severe and 95.4% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Chandigarh 92 days, Puducherry 117 days.
Year-over-year progress
Chandigarh has worsened by 27 AQI points (21.4%) from 2019 to 2024; Puducherry has worsened by 1 AQI points (1.9%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Chandigarh reached AQI 452 at Sector-53 (CPCC) on 2022-11-09; Puducherry hit AQI 274 at Jawahar Nagar (PPCC) on 2022-10-25.
Station-level disparity
Chandigarh spans 3 CPCB stations with a 43-point spread (min 107, max 150); Puducherry spans 1 stations with a 0-point spread (min 56, max 56).
Verdict
🏆 Puducherry has better air quality with an AQI of 27 compared to Chandigarh's 78. That's a significant difference of 51 points.