Lucknow vs Pune
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Lucknow and Pune.
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 | Pune |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 105.20 | 16.30 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 155.50 | 35.50 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 59.70 | 10.00 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 25.50 | 9.20 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 41.00 | 36.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 416.00 | 152.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Lucknow averaged an AQI of 127 while Pune averaged 97 — a 30-point (31%) gap, with Lucknow the more polluted and Pune the cleaner of the two. On 1999 days when both cities reported, Pune was cleaner on 1672 of them; the average daily gap was 118 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Both cities see their worst air in November on average. Lucknow logged 6.6% Severe days and 19.4% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Pune was 0.1% Severe and 44.8% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Lucknow 45 days, Pune 92 days.
Year-over-year progress
Lucknow has improved by 89 AQI points (41.2%) from 2016 to 2024; Pune has improved by 7 AQI points (6.7%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Lucknow reached AQI 500 at Lalbagh (CPCB) on 2017-11-09; Pune hit AQI 435 at Alandi (IITM) on 2024-01-29.
Station-level disparity
Lucknow spans 7 CPCB stations with a 119-point spread (min 97, max 216); Pune spans 12 stations with a 54-point spread (min 68, max 122).
Verdict
🏆 Pune has better air quality with an AQI of 36 compared to Lucknow's 251. That's a significant difference of 215 points.