Puducherry vs Varanasi
Side-by-side air quality comparison between Puducherry 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 | Puducherry | Varanasi |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5(µg/m³) | 16.40 | 43.80 |
| PM10(µg/m³) | 19.20 | 52.90 |
| NO₂(µg/m³) | 18.50 | 28.20 |
| SO₂(µg/m³) | 8.80 | 36.90 |
| O₃(µg/m³) | 37.00 | 45.00 |
| CO(µg/m³) | 394.00 | 440.00 |
CPCB Multi-Year History (2016–2024)
Summary
Overview
In 2024, Puducherry averaged an AQI of 55 while Varanasi averaged 56 — a 1-point (2%) gap, with Varanasi the more polluted and Puducherry the cleaner of the two. On 1019 days when both cities reported, Puducherry was cleaner on 801 of them; the average daily gap was 65 AQI points.
Seasonality & days
Puducherry peaks in December, while Varanasi peaks in January. Puducherry logged 0% Severe days and 95.4% Good-or-Satisfactory days; Varanasi was 2.8% Severe and 36% Good-or-Satisfactory. Longest clean-air streaks: Puducherry 117 days, Varanasi 87 days.
Year-over-year progress
Puducherry has worsened by 1 AQI points (1.9%) from 2021 to 2024; Varanasi has improved by 169 AQI points (75.1%) over the same window. The worst recorded day for Puducherry reached AQI 274 at Jawahar Nagar (PPCC) on 2022-10-25; Varanasi hit AQI 500 at Ardhali Bazar (UPPCB) on 2017-07-11.
Station-level disparity
Puducherry spans 1 CPCB stations with a 0-point spread (min 56, max 56); Varanasi spans 4 stations with a 94-point spread (min 71, max 165).
Verdict
🏆 Puducherry has better air quality with an AQI of 27 compared to Varanasi's 74.