Kota vs Varanasi
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Kota 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 | Kota | Varanasi |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 23.30 | 43.80 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 36.10 | 52.90 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 6.10 | 28.20 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 7.50 | 36.90 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 62.00 | 45.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 191.00 | 440.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Kota averaged an AQI of 131 while Varanasi averaged 56 — a 75-point (134%) gap, with Kota the more polluted and Varanasi the cleaner of the two. On 2072 days when both cities reported, Kota was cleaner on 1241 of them; the average daily gap was 79 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Kota peaks in November, while Varanasi peaks in January. Kota logged 0% Severe days and 40.599999999999994% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Varanasi was 2.8% Severe and 36% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Kota 89 days, Varanasi 87 days.
Year-over-year progress
Kota has improved by 45 AQI points (25.6%) from 2017 to 2024; Varanasi has improved by 169 AQI points (75.1%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Kota reached AQI 375 at Shrinath Puram (RSPCB) on 2021-11-14; Varanasi hit AQI 500 at Ardhali Bazar (UPPCB) on 2017-07-11.
Station-level disparity
Kota spans 3 CPCB stations with a 9-point spread (min 121, max 130); Varanasi spans 4 stations with a 94-point spread (min 71, max 165).
Verdict
🏆 Kota has better air quality with an AQI of 39 compared to Varanasi's 74.