Chandigarh vs Varanasi
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Chandigarh and Varanasi.
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 | Varanasi |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 49.00 | 48.20 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 64.70 | 57.90 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 40.20 | 38.80 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 8.40 | 27.00 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 23.00 | 22.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 678.00 | 523.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Chandigarh averaged an AQI of 153 while Varanasi averaged 56 — a 97-point (173%) gap, with Chandigarh the more polluted and Varanasi the cleaner of the two. On 1532 days when both cities reported, Varanasi was cleaner on 805 of them; the average daily gap was 84 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Both cities see their worst air in January on average. Chandigarh logged 0.3% Severe days and 39.9% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Varanasi was 2.8% Severe and 36% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Chandigarh 92 days, Varanasi 87 days.
Year-over-year progress
Chandigarh has worsened by 27 AQI points (21.4%) from 2019 to 2024; Varanasi has improved by 169 AQI points (75.1%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Chandigarh reached AQI 452 at Sector-53 (CPCC) on 2022-11-09; Varanasi hit AQI 500 at Ardhali Bazar (UPPCB) on 2017-07-11.
Station-level disparity
Chandigarh spans 3 CPCB stations with a 43-point spread (min 107, max 150); Varanasi spans 4 stations with a 94-point spread (min 71, max 165).
Verdict
🏆 Varanasi has better air quality with an AQI of 81 compared to Chandigarh's 82.