Top 10 Indian Cities With The Cleanest Air and Best AQI in 2024: Following the severe smog crisis in New Delhi post-festive season, a combination of factors including a drizzle on Sunday, strong winds, and a mostly clear sky on Monday which contributed to an improvement in the city's air quality, bringing it to the 'moderate' category. As of 4 pm on Monday, the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was reported at 186, marking a significant improvement from the 'very poor' AQI of 302 recorded on Sunday. This improvement marked the fourth day this month that the city has experienced a 'moderate' AQI. However, the capital city’s air quality again slipped into the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday with the AQI recorded at 223. Nonetheless, while many cities in India continue to grapple with severe air pollution, there are several other cities which are experiencing relatively clean air with impressive AQI readings. Top 10 Cleanest Cities in India with the Best AQI in 2024 (December 2024) As of December 10, 2024, at 4 PM, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) identified India's top 10 cleanest cities based on their best AQI. Rank City State/UT AQI Value AQI Category Primary Pollutant 1 Tirunelveli Tamil Nadu 29 Good PM10 2 Kanchipuram Tamil Nadu 36 Good PM10 3 Vijayapura Karnataka 37 Good PM10 4 Madikeri Karnataka 42 Good PM2.5 5 Thanjavur Tamil Nadu 42 Good PM10 6 Rishikesh Uttarakhand 43 Good PM10 7 Bagalkot Karnataka 43 Good PM10 8 Koppal Karnataka 43 Good PM10 9 Aizawl Mizoram 44 Good PM10 10 Chamarajanagar Karnataka 45 Good PM10 Source: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Here are the remaining three cities with 'Good' AQI levels: 11 Bareilly Uttar Pradesh 48 Good PM10 12 Chikkamagaluru Karnataka 49 Good NO 13 Hubballi Karnataka 49 Good PM10 Please note: PM2.5, being finer, penetrates deeper into the lungs and bloodstream, posing higher health risks, while PM10 is larger and stays in the upper respiratory tract. Lower PM2.5 levels are prioritized for better air quality. Top 10 global cities with the best Air Quality Index (AQI) as of December 2024 IQAir's live rankings highlight global cities with the cleanest air, as measured by the Air Quality Index (AQI), as of December 11, 2024. Maintaining excellent air quality is crucial for public health, as poor air can lead to respiratory and other health problems. Rank City Country AQI (US) 1 Copenhagen Denmark 6 2 Seattle USA 15 3 Stockholm Sweden 17 4 Dublin Ireland 19 5 Auckland New Zealand 19 6 Melbourne Australia 20 7 Kuching Malaysia 20 8 Sao Paulo Brazil 22 9 London United Kingdom 23 10 Helsinki Finland 23 Source: IQAir.com Live Rankings (as of December 11, 2024)
