Air quality
Air quality in Prayagraj today
Updated
Unhealthy (US AQI 172) Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 10:30 pm (17:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 172 Unhealthy
- PM2.5
- 119 µg/m³ 7.9× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 151 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 53 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 172
- Best hour tomorrow
- 9:30 pm AQI 177
- European AQI
- 92
Air quality in Prayagraj right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India is 172, which falls in the "Unhealthy" band (up to 200). Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 172. Fine and coarse particles come from traffic, heating, industry, dust and smoke; they build up on calm nights and clear when wind or rain arrives.
PM2.5 is 119 µg/m³, 7.9 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 151 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 53 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 42 µg/m³ (above the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: desert dust at 59 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 780 µg/m³.
Prayagraj AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 172 around Sun 10:30 pm to 184 around Mon 11:30 am, staying "Unhealthy" throughout.
The following day is expected to be cleaner, averaging about 154 against 179 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Asia/Kolkata) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 10:30 pm | 172 | Unhealthy | 119.2 | 151 | 53 |
| Mon 1:30 am | 175 | Unhealthy | 136.4 | 168 | 28 |
| Mon 4:30 am | 177 | Unhealthy | 143.9 | 177 | 3 |
| Mon 7:30 am | 180 | Unhealthy | 156.5 | 184 | 79 |
| Mon 10:30 am | 183 | Unhealthy | 70.1 | 103 | 179 |
| Mon 1:30 pm | 183 | Unhealthy | 41.9 | 65 | 183 |
| Mon 4:30 pm | 181 | Unhealthy | 34.9 | 47 | 129 |
| Mon 7:30 pm | 179 | Unhealthy | 48.8 | 60 | 76 |
| Mon 10:30 pm | 175 | Unhealthy | 59.6 | 71 | 48 |
| Tue 1:30 am | 169 | Unhealthy | 65 | 78 | 33 |
| Tue 4:30 am | 163 | Unhealthy | 64.3 | 76 | 21 |
| Tue 7:30 am | 155 | Unhealthy | 71.9 | 82 | 62 |
| Tue 10:30 am | 150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 42.4 | 56 | 155 |
| Tue 1:30 pm | 143 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 33.6 | 43 | 187 |
| Tue 4:30 pm | 142 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 34.8 | 41 | 146 |
| Tue 7:30 pm | 142 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 55.2 | 61 | 81 |
| Tue 10:30 pm | 145 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 68.2 | 72 | 48 |
Every third hour of the CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo. US AQI uses rolling averages (24 h for particles, 8 h for ozone), so it moves more slowly than the hourly concentrations.
Best time to be outside in Prayagraj tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 9:30 pm (AQI 177, Unhealthy) and the worst around 11:30 am (AQI 184). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Prayagraj vs the rest of India
Across 234 India cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 118 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Prayagraj at 172 is 54 points worse than average.
It ranks 220 of 234 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Dindigul (29) and the most polluted Hisar (325).
For context, the median across 2,940 cities worldwide is 61.
Air quality in cities near Prayagraj
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gauriganj | 86 km | 169 | Unhealthy | 107.3 |
| Varanasi | 118 km | 153 | Unhealthy | 82 |
| Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar | 130 km | 153 | Unhealthy | 82 |
| Lucknow | 180 km | 178 | Unhealthy | 71.7 |
| Kanpur | 188 km | 161 | Unhealthy | 58.1 |
| Gorakhpur | 212 km | 167 | Unhealthy | 117.8 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Prayagraj, so the numbers on this page are model estimates. Models capture regional pollution well but can miss very local sources such as a busy road or a nearby fire.
Wildfire smoke
PM2.5 is forecast to reach 157 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 202 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 21 km away). Smoke is a likely contributor: keep windows closed, run an air purifier or HVAC filter, and check the fire map before heading out.
Advice for sensitive groups
At 172, children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with asthma, COPD or heart disease should limit time outdoors, especially strenuous activity. A well-fitted N95/FFP2 mask cuts particle exposure; it does not filter ozone.
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Values on this page are modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) and served by Open-Meteo; they are estimates for the area around the city centre, not readings from an official monitor.
Nearby cities
More for Prayagraj
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.