Chennai vs Mumbai
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Chennai and Mumbai.
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 | Chennai | Mumbai |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 11.70 | 17.50 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 13.10 | 40.70 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 14.20 | 11.00 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 10.10 | 12.60 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 56.00 | 42.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 308.00 | 196.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Chennai averaged an AQI of 68 while Mumbai averaged 93 — a 25-point (37%) gap, with Mumbai the more polluted and Chennai the cleaner of the two. On 2147 days when both cities reported, Chennai was cleaner on 1535 of them; the average daily gap was 83 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Both cities see their worst air in December on average. Chennai logged 0% Severe days and 57.5% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Mumbai was 0.5% Severe and 34% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Chennai 53 days, Mumbai 58 days.
Year-over-year progress
Chennai has improved by 25 AQI points (26.9%) from 2017 to 2024; Mumbai has improved by 4 AQI points (4.1%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Chennai reached AQI 391 at Kodungaiyur (TNPCB) on 2021-05-14; Mumbai hit AQI 500 at Vile Parle West (MPCB) on 2022-08-15.
Station-level disparity
Chennai spans 9 CPCB stations with a 27-point spread (min 63, max 90); Mumbai spans 29 stations with a 74-point spread (min 77, max 151).
Verdict
🏆 Chennai has better air quality with an AQI of 20 compared to Mumbai's 41.