Ludhiana vs Varanasi
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Ludhiana 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 | Ludhiana | Varanasi |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 43.20 | 37.50 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 65.90 | 70.80 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 2.70 | 2.60 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 11.00 | 14.50 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 188.00 | 163.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 342.00 | 182.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2021, Ludhiana averaged an AQI of 117 while Varanasi averaged 56 — a 61-point (109%) gap, with Ludhiana the more polluted and Varanasi the cleaner of the two. On 1394 days when both cities reported, Ludhiana was cleaner on 1056 of them; the average daily gap was 95 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Ludhiana peaks in November, while Varanasi peaks in January. Ludhiana logged 0.3% Severe days and 53.599999999999994% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Varanasi was 2.8% Severe and 36% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Ludhiana 53 days, Varanasi 87 days.
Year-over-year progress
Ludhiana has improved by 79 AQI points (40.3%) from 2017 to 2021; Varanasi has improved by 169 AQI points (75.1%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Ludhiana reached AQI 488 at Punjab Agricultural University (PPCB) on 2018-06-14; Varanasi hit AQI 500 at Ardhali Bazar (UPPCB) on 2017-07-11.
Station-level disparity
Ludhiana spans 1 CPCB stations with a 0-point spread (min 118, max 118); Varanasi spans 4 stations with a 94-point spread (min 71, max 165).
Verdict
🏆 Varanasi has better air quality with an AQI of 71 compared to Ludhiana's 73.