Chennai vs Visakhapatnam
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Chennai and Visakhapatnam.
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 | Visakhapatnam |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 16.60 | 30.70 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 18.20 | 36.10 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 16.20 | 24.00 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 9.00 | 40.50 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 57.00 | 78.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 350.00 | 501.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Chennai averaged an AQI of 68 while Visakhapatnam averaged 110 — a 42-point (62%) gap, with Visakhapatnam the more polluted and Chennai the cleaner of the two. On 2056 days when both cities reported, Chennai was cleaner on 1031 of them; the average daily gap was 42 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Chennai peaks in December, while Visakhapatnam peaks in January. Chennai logged 0% Severe days and 57.5% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Visakhapatnam was 0% Severe and 50.1% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Chennai 53 days, Visakhapatnam 27 days.
Year-over-year progress
Chennai has improved by 25 AQI points (26.9%) from 2017 to 2024; Visakhapatnam has worsened by 15 AQI points (15.8%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Chennai reached AQI 391 at Kodungaiyur (TNPCB) on 2021-05-14; Visakhapatnam hit AQI 341 at GVM Corporation (APPCB) on 2019-01-14.
Station-level disparity
Chennai spans 9 CPCB stations with a 27-point spread (min 63, max 90); Visakhapatnam spans 1 stations with a 0-point spread (min 111, max 111).
Verdict
🏆 Chennai has better air quality with an AQI of 28 compared to Visakhapatnam's 52.