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Top 10 highest AQI cities in India today (October 16): Kapurthala, Ghaziabad record highest morning pollution

Top 10 Highest AQI Level Cities in India Today (October 16, 2025): Check here the top 10 highest AQI cities in India with their air quality index (AQI) and pollution levels. Find out which Indian cities are most polluted today and check health advisories.

A haze hangs over Delhi on October 16, bringing down the visibility as AQI rises (Photo: PTI).

Top 10 highest AQI cities today: With the temperatures dropping in the country, especially in North India, the air quality is dropping too. The AQI, an indicator of air pollution, is rising up quickly in multiple cities. In several cities, the air is nothing short of toxic.

At 9 am on Thursday, October 16, Punjab’s Kapurthala and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh topped the list of the most polluted cities at 9 am on Thursday. The top 10 cities with the highest AQI in India were in the ‘very poor’ category, with the AQI reading well above 300, as per AQI monitoring agency aqi.in.

Top 10 highest AQI cities in India:

Rank	City	AQI	Status
1.	Kapurthala	389	Very poor
2.	Ghaziabad	346	Very poor
3.	Nagli Bahrampur	336	Very poor
4.	Baddi	331	Very poor
5.	Saharanpur	321	Very poor
6.	Haripur	320	Very poor
7.	Bulandshahr	318	Very poor
8.	Gurgaon	316	Very poor
9.	Begampur	309	Very poor
10.	Nawanshahr, India	309	Very poor

These were cities with the highest AQI in the world at 9 am.

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The AQI reading is categorised as Good (0-50), Satisfactory (51-100), Moderately Polluted (101-200), Poor (201-300), Very Poor (301-400), and Severe (401-500). Thus, higher the AQI reading, the unhealthier it gets to breathe.

Also Read | Delhi AQI today: Multiple areas log ‘very poor’ air quality, Anand Vihar breathes the most toxic air

Health Advisory

With the AQI constantly rising, Delhi-NCR residents are advised to wear masks and stay indoors as much as possible to avoid breathing in the toxic air. Health experts also advise to avoid outdoor walking, jogging, or exercising due to the presence of pollutants in the air.

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