Kozhikode — Seasonal Pollution Patterns
Month-by-month air quality patterns for Kozhikode across 4 years of CPCB data. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Kerala · Live Kozhikode AQI →
At a glance
Based on 4 years of CPCB monitoring across 1 stations, Kozhikode averages AQI 59 annually, with a pronounced seasonal pattern classified as flat year-round. The worst month is January at AQI 76 (Satisfactory) and the cleanest is May at AQI 47 (Good) — a 29-point swing between them. Severe days (AQI > 400) make up 0.1% of the record while Good-or-Satisfactory days account for 99.0%.
The four seasons
Indian meteorological seasons: Winter (Dec–Feb), Summer (Mar–May), Monsoon (Jun–Sep), Post-monsoon (Oct–Nov).
Winter
AQI 71Summer
AQI 58Monsoon
AQI 49Post-monsoon
AQI 57Climograph — monthly averages and Poor+ days
Bars show the long-run AQI average per month. The overlay line counts days in Poor, Very Poor or Severe bands.
Year × month heatmap
One cell per year-month combination.
Each cell = monthly average AQI for that year-month combination. Row averages on the right, column averages at the bottom.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 81 | 84 | 58 | 46 | 39 | 31 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 41 | 67 | 77 | 49 |
| 2021 | 98 | 83 | 77 | 72 | 42 | 48 | 53 | 49 | 51 | 50 | 51 | 50 | 61 |
| 2022 | 49 | 59 | 59 | 56 | 60 | 69 | 66 | 66 | 70 | 75 | 68 | 50 | 62 |
| 2023 | 75 | 78 | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 78 |
| Avg | 76 | 76 | 67 | 58 | 47 | 49 | 50 | 48 | 48 | 54 | 60 | 60 | — |
Winter in Kozhikode
Winter (Dec–Jan–Feb) in Kozhikode averages AQI 71 across 268 measured days — Satisfactory on the NAQI scale. 0.7% of those days fall in Very Poor or Severe; 96.3% are Good or Satisfactory. Year-on-year, winter worsened by 44.1% in the most recent comparison. Winter in Kozhikode is not the headline season, but shallow morning inversions can still produce short spikes. Kozhikode's cleanest months lie elsewhere in the calendar, so the winter response is less about evacuation than about protecting sensitive groups on the worst individual days.
Diwali, stubble burning and the monsoon
Three India-specific signatures that shape the seasonal curve.
Diwali week impact
The 7-day window around Diwali averages AQI 64 (Satisfactory), versus 53 (Satisfactory) for the rest of October. 18 sampled days across the CPCB record.
Stubble-burning window (Oct 15 – Nov 15)
In-window severe-day share 0% vs 0.1% outside the window. The difference is a direct signal of upwind crop-residue transport.
Monsoon cleansing (Jul 15 – Sep 15)
Core monsoon window averages AQI 49 (Good), compared with an annual mean of 59.
Summer
Summer (Mar–Apr–May) in Kozhikode averages AQI 58 across 277 measured days — Satisfactory on the NAQI scale. 0% of those days fall in Very Poor or Severe; 100% are Good or Satisfactory. Year-on-year, summer worsened by 40.5% in the most recent comparison. Summer air in Kozhikode is shaped by a very different mix of forces. Rising temperatures drive deeper vertical mixing which dilutes local emissions, but pre-monsoon dust storms, wildfires and heat-accelerated ozone formation can all push AQI higher on individual days. Kozhikode's summer mean of 58 is the lighter side of the year for outdoor activity, though hot afternoons can still irritate sensitive airways.
Monsoon
Monsoon (Jun–Jul–Aug–Sep) in Kozhikode averages AQI 49 across 314 measured days — Good on the NAQI scale. 0% of those days fall in Very Poor or Severe; 100% are Good or Satisfactory. The Jul 15 – Sep 15 core monsoon window averages AQI 49, a 16.9% improvement on the annual mean of 59. Rain scrubs particulates out by wet deposition, and the deeper monsoon boundary layer disperses what remains vertically. Short-lived rebounds can happen between spells of rain, but the overall pattern is strongly favourable for outdoor activity. For anyone with asthma or heart conditions, monsoon is the easy-breathing stretch of the year in Kozhikode.
Post-monsoon
Post-monsoon (Oct–Nov) in Kozhikode averages AQI 57 across 147 measured days — Satisfactory on the NAQI scale. 0% of those days fall in Very Poor or Severe; 100% are Good or Satisfactory. Diwali and the three days either side of it average AQI 64 — 1.21× the normal October baseline of AQI 53 for Kozhikode, a spike of 11 points. Post-monsoon in Kozhikode is the handoff from clean monsoon air to the winter peak, and the transition is rarely gentle.
Month-by-month trajectories
How each month has moved across the 4-year CPCB record.
First year vs latest year
Annual and per-season comparison.
Across the 4-year CPCB record Kozhikode is worsening overall — AQI moved from 49 in 2020 to 78 in 2023, a +59.2% change. Months that worsened most: Mar (+41.4%). No month shows a material improvement of 10% or more. Because Kozhikode's seasonal shape is flat year-round, policy action that targets the January peak buys disproportionate relief — most city-wide annual averages are dragged upwards by the worst two or three months.
Daily calendar heatmap
Every measured day for the last 3 years. Expand for the full 4-year archive.
Month-by-month deep dive
Tap any month to expand.
Jan2020–2023Latest AQI 75-7%
Jan in Kozhikode averages AQI 75 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 81 in 2020. Direction: stable (-7.4%).
Feb2020–2023Latest AQI 78-7%
Feb in Kozhikode averages AQI 78 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 84 in 2020. Direction: stable (-7.1%).
Mar2020–2023Latest AQI 82+41%
Mar in Kozhikode averages AQI 82 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 58 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+41.4%).
Apr2020–2022Latest AQI 56+22%
Apr in Kozhikode averages AQI 56 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 46 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+21.7%).
May2020–2022Latest AQI 60+54%
May in Kozhikode averages AQI 60 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 39 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+53.8%).
Jun2020–2022Latest AQI 69+123%
Jun in Kozhikode averages AQI 69 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 31 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+122.6%).
Jul2020–2022Latest AQI 66+187%
Jul in Kozhikode averages AQI 66 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 23 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+187.0%).
Aug2020–2022Latest AQI 66+175%
Aug in Kozhikode averages AQI 66 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 24 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+175.0%).
Sep2020–2022Latest AQI 70+204%
Sep in Kozhikode averages AQI 70 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 23 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+204.3%).
Oct2020–2022Latest AQI 75+83%
Oct in Kozhikode averages AQI 75 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 41 in 2020. Direction: worsening (+82.9%).
Nov2020–2022Latest AQI 68+2%
Nov in Kozhikode averages AQI 68 (Satisfactory) in the most recent year, having moved from 67 in 2020. Direction: stable (+1.5%).
Dec2020–2022Latest AQI 50-35%
Dec in Kozhikode averages AQI 50 (Good) in the most recent year, having moved from 77 in 2020. Direction: improving (-35.1%).
Cities with similar (and opposite) seasonal profiles
Ranked by cosine similarity of 12-month AQI signatures across monitored Indian cities.
Similar seasonal profile
Cities whose 12-month AQI signature most closely matches Kozhikode.
Opposite seasonal profile
Cities whose seasonal signature least resembles Kozhikode.
What to do with this information
If you are choosing when to visit Kozhikode or plan outdoor events — marathons, weddings, school sports, outdoor festivals — the CPCB record says May and the two adjacent months are the lowest-risk window. Daily variability still matters; check the live AQI page before committing on any specific date. Sensitive groups should treat January in Kozhikode as an indoor-air-priority month: close windows on high-AQI evenings, run a purifier with a HEPA filter rated for your room size, and reserve outdoor exercise for clear-weather mornings. On days above AQI 300, even healthy adults benefit from well-fitted N95 or KN95 masks for outdoor commutes.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the most polluted month in Kozhikode?
January is the most polluted month in Kozhikode on average, with a long-run AQI of 76 — firmly in the Satisfactory band. This is drawn from 1 CPCB monitoring stations across 4 years of daily readings. Through January, residents should expect elevated PM2.5 and PM10, reduced visibility on cooler mornings, and strong recommendations from doctors to limit outdoor exertion, wear well-fitted N95 masks, and run indoor purifiers through evening and overnight hours when pollutant accumulation typically peaks.
What is the cleanest month to visit Kozhikode?
May is the cleanest month of the year in Kozhikode, averaging AQI 47 in the Good band. The months immediately before and after also tend to sit well below the annual mean of 59, so a visit window centred on May is the safest choice for outdoor sightseeing, marathons, school trips and wedding events. Mornings are usually the crispest time to head out; pollution tends to creep up slightly during the evening commute even in the cleanest months. Always cross-check the day-of live AQI before any high-exertion outdoor plan.
Why does Kozhikode's air spike in January?
Kozhikode's profile is relatively flat year-round; the small January reflects modest swings in wind, rainfall and local emissions rather than a dramatic seasonal mechanism.
How bad is Diwali air quality in Kozhikode?
Across the CPCB record, the week around Diwali in Kozhikode averages AQI 64 — 1.21× the normal October baseline of AQI 53, a spike of 11 AQI points. Firework particulates combine with a cooler, more stagnant late-October atmosphere to produce some of the worst air-quality days of the entire year. Sensitive groups should treat Diwali eve and the two days after as peak-alert days: stay indoors, close windows by evening, run purifiers on high, and reserve any outdoor celebrations for daytime hours when mixing is strongest.
Does the monsoon actually clean Kozhikode's air?
Only partially. Kozhikode's monsoon window averages AQI 49, which is a 16.9% change from the annual mean of 59. Rain does scrub particulates, but the improvement here is modest — pointing to persistent local sources (industry, traffic, dust) that rain cannot fully wash away.
Is Kozhikode's worst season getting worse or better year-on-year?
Between 2020 and 2023, Kozhikode's annual average AQI moved from 49 to 78 — a change of +59.2%. In the most recent year-on-year comparison, the winter season specifically worsened by 44.1%. The long-run direction is worsening — rapid urbanisation and emissions growth appear to be outpacing efficiency gains.
Which months are safest to visit Kozhikode?
May is the single best month at AQI 47. Based on the 12-month averages, the three cleanest months in Kozhikode are May (AQI 47), August (AQI 48), September (AQI 48). These are the safest choices for outdoor itineraries, long walks, open-air concerts and day-trips. Sensitive groups can treat these months as near-normal activity windows but should still check live AQI for the specific date. Avoid planning outdoor-heavy trips in January, when the baseline jumps into Satisfactory territory.
How does Kozhikode's seasonal pattern compare to other Indian cities?
Kozhikode is classified as flat year-round. Based on a 12-month cosine-similarity index computed across all monitored Indian cities, the city whose seasonal signature most closely resembles Kozhikode's is Kollam (Kerala), with its own worst month in January. Cities with similar signatures often respond to similar policy levers — if a neighbouring peer has demonstrated improvements through specific interventions (construction-dust controls, bus electrification, brick-kiln regulation), they are likely candidates for Kozhikode too. The peer-city panel on this page lists the closest four additional matches.