Lucknow vs Puducherry
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Lucknow and Puducherry.
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 | Lucknow | Puducherry |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 107.30 | 12.20 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 189.50 | 14.50 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 83.80 | 18.70 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 28.40 | 9.00 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 0.00 | 33.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 474.00 | 402.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Lucknow averaged an AQI of 127 while Puducherry averaged 55 — a 72-point (131%) gap, with Lucknow the more polluted and Puducherry the cleaner of the two. On 1023 days when both cities reported, Puducherry was cleaner on 1012 of them; the average daily gap was 142 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Lucknow peaks in November, while Puducherry peaks in December. Lucknow logged 6.6% Severe days and 19.4% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Puducherry was 0% Severe and 95.4% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Lucknow 45 days, Puducherry 117 days.
Year-over-year progress
Lucknow has improved by 89 AQI points (41.2%) from 2016 to 2024; Puducherry has worsened by 1 AQI points (1.9%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Lucknow reached AQI 500 at Lalbagh (CPCB) on 2017-11-09; Puducherry hit AQI 274 at Jawahar Nagar (PPCC) on 2022-10-25.
Station-level disparity
Lucknow spans 7 CPCB stations with a 119-point spread (min 97, max 216); Puducherry spans 1 stations with a 0-point spread (min 56, max 56).
Verdict
🏆 Puducherry has better air quality with an AQI of 20 compared to Lucknow's 258. That's a significant difference of 238 points.