Chandigarh vs Salem
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Chandigarh and Salem.
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
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Chandigarh averaged an AQI of 153 while Salem averaged 68 — a 85-point (125%) gap, with Chandigarh the more polluted and Salem the cleaner of the two. On 394 days when both cities reported, Salem was cleaner on 371 of them; the average daily gap was 113 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Chandigarh peaks in January, while Salem peaks in April. Chandigarh logged 0.3% Severe days and 39.9% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Salem was 0% Severe and 87.1% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Chandigarh 92 days, Salem 17 days.
Year-over-year progress
Chandigarh has worsened by 27 AQI points (21.4%) from 2019 to 2024; Salem has improved by 5 AQI points (6.8%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Chandigarh reached AQI 452 at Sector-53 (CPCC) on 2022-11-09; Salem hit AQI 214 at Sona College of Technology (TNPCB) on 2024-01-15.
Station-level disparity
Chandigarh spans 3 CPCB stations with a 43-point spread (min 107, max 150); Salem spans 1 stations with a 0-point spread (min 73, max 73).