Meerut vs Varanasi
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Meerut 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 | Meerut | Varanasi |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 69.60 | 43.80 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 96.40 | 52.90 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 27.40 | 28.20 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 11.00 | 36.90 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 65.00 | 45.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 590.00 | 440.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Meerut averaged an AQI of 144 while Varanasi averaged 56 — a 88-point (157%) gap, with Meerut the more polluted and Varanasi the cleaner of the two. On 1524 days when both cities reported, Varanasi was cleaner on 1248 of them; the average daily gap was 85 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Meerut peaks in November, while Varanasi peaks in January. Meerut logged 2% Severe days and 22.299999999999997% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Varanasi was 2.8% Severe and 36% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Meerut 25 days, Varanasi 87 days.
Year-over-year progress
Meerut has improved by 116 AQI points (44.6%) from 2019 to 2024; Varanasi has improved by 169 AQI points (75.1%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Meerut reached AQI 490 at Pallavpuram Phase 2 (UPPCB) on 2020-11-05; Varanasi hit AQI 500 at Ardhali Bazar (UPPCB) on 2017-07-11.
Station-level disparity
Meerut spans 3 CPCB stations with a 13-point spread (min 172, max 185); Varanasi spans 4 stations with a 94-point spread (min 71, max 165).
Verdict
🏆 Varanasi has better air quality with an AQI of 74 compared to Meerut's 133. That's a significant difference of 59 points.