Karnal vs Rishīkesh
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Karnal and Rishīkesh.
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 | Karnal | Rishīkesh |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 110.80 | 6.70 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 258.90 | 6.80 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 55.20 | 11.00 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 12.50 | 2.20 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 10.00 | 89.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 1037.00 | 353.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Karnal averaged an AQI of 102 while Rishīkesh averaged 74 — a 28-point (38%) gap, with Karnal the more polluted and Rishīkesh the cleaner of the two. On 604 days when both cities reported, Rishīkesh was cleaner on 493 of them; the average daily gap was 46 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Karnal peaks in November, while Rishīkesh peaks in January. Karnal logged 0.1% Severe days and 46.2% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Rishīkesh was 0% Severe and 88.3% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Karnal 53 days, Rishīkesh 95 days.
Year-over-year progress
Karnal has improved by 71 AQI points (41%) from 2019 to 2024; Rishīkesh has worsened by 21 AQI points (39.6%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Karnal reached AQI 456 at Sector-12 (HSPCB) on 2019-11-03; Rishīkesh hit AQI 208 at Shivaji Nagar (UKPCB) on 2024-11-11.
Station-level disparity
Karnal spans 1 CPCB stations with a 0-point spread (min 128, max 128); Rishīkesh spans 1 stations with a 0-point spread (min 64, max 64).
Verdict
🏆 Rishīkesh has better air quality with an AQI of 11 compared to Karnal's 270. That's a significant difference of 259 points.