Daily · Free tool
India AQI
Live air quality for Indian cities. We use the same six bands as the CPCB's National AQI — and tell you what to actually do at each level (open windows, mask up, stay indoors).
AQI band explorer
Drag the slider to see what each AQI level means and what to do.
Breathing discomfort likely for people with lung, heart disease, children, elderly.
Reduce prolonged outdoor exertion. Run air purifier indoors. Sensitive groups — N95 outdoors.
All six AQI bands
Good
0–50Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk.
Enjoy outdoor activities. Window open, sport outside, no mask needed.
Satisfactory
51–100Minor breathing discomfort possible for very sensitive individuals.
Outdoor activity is fine for most. Asthmatics — keep inhaler nearby.
Moderate
101–200Breathing discomfort likely for people with lung, heart disease, children, elderly.
Reduce prolonged outdoor exertion. Run air purifier indoors. Sensitive groups — N95 outdoors.
Poor
201–300Breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure.
Avoid morning walks. Keep windows shut. N95 outdoors. Cancel kids’ outdoor sport.
Very Poor
301–400Respiratory illness on prolonged exposure for everyone.
Stay indoors. Air purifier on full. N95 mandatory if you must go out. Elderly + asthmatics — minimise exposure.
Severe
401–500+Affects healthy people; serious impact on those with heart/lung disease.
Treat as medical emergency for sensitive groups. WFH if possible. Schools should suspend outdoor activity.
What the AQI number really means
The AQI is a single number from 0 to 500 derived from up to eight pollutants — PM2.5, PM10, NO₂, SO₂, CO, O₃, NH₃ and Pb. The pollutant doing the most damage becomes the “dominant” pollutant and sets the AQI. In Indian cities this is almost always PM2.5 in winter and ground-level ozone in summer.
When to actually wear an N95
Sensitive groups (children, elderly, asthmatics, pregnant, COPD/heart patients) — AQI above 100. Healthy adults — above 200 if outside for over 30 minutes. Above 400, everyone. A surgical or cloth mask does almost nothing for PM2.5 — only N95/KN95/FFP2 actually filters fine particles.
Indoor air quality is half the battle
On a 350 AQI day in Delhi, indoor PM2.5 in a closed apartment can still hit 150 unless you run a HEPA purifier. Cracks under doors, kitchen exhausts and people coming in from outside all leak particles in. A purifier sized to your room (CADR ≈ 5× room area in m²) is the best ₹15-25k you can spend in NCR.