Visualization of Air over India — Adhit Chandy George

A district-by-district look at 26 years of PM2.5. Research · Code, 2026.

Data:ACAG V6.GL.02.04 (WashU)

Boundaries:SHRUG v2.1, Census 2011 districts

Series:1998–2023 annual mean PM2.5

Licence:CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

PM2.5 estimates in Indian districts over the time period of 1998–2023. The data was initially cleaned and processed for my master’s thesis. And recently, going back to my thesis, I thought that it would be nice to also have an interactive visualisation of this data.

I think that it is also much easier to understand the degradation in air quality over time when the information is presented visually. It helps provide a clearer picture of how the problem has evolved across different areas and, more importantly, makes it easier to identify the places where pollution has persisted or worsened to a much greater and potentially more dangerous extent than elsewhere.

So here is India: district by district, from 1998 to 2023. Pick a place, see what its air has been doing, and hold it up against somewhere else. Not one district gets under the WHO’s guideline in any year.

Map of India coloured by annual mean PM2.5 in 2023: highest across the plains of the north, from Punjab and Delhi to Bihar and West Bengal, lowest in the far north, the north-east and the south-west coast. — Fig. 1 Annual mean PM2.5, 2023, µg/m³

The map plays monthly means of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the table holds yearly ones, in micrograms per cubic metre, averaged over each district's area. The land stands at its real height, exaggerated about twenty times; only the colour is the air. They come from satellites and models rather than from monitors on the ground, so treat a tenth of a microgram with some suspicion.

Table 1 All 640 districts, yearly means, 2023 and 1998, µg/m³

District	State	2023	1998	Change
Central	NCT of Delhi	104.6	66.3	+38.3
East	NCT of Delhi	104.2	67.1	+37.1
North East	NCT of Delhi	104.0	65.9	+38.1
North	NCT of Delhi	103.6	65.6	+38.0
New Delhi	NCT of Delhi	103.2	65.7	+37.5
West	NCT of Delhi	101.5	63.1	+38.4
North West	NCT of Delhi	94.6	61.3	+33.3
South	NCT of Delhi	89.4	56.6	+32.8
South West	NCT of Delhi	89.3	55.5	+33.8
Gautam Buddha Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	82.8	55.1	+27.7
Faridabad	Haryana	80.4	53.6	+26.8
Ghaziabad	Uttar Pradesh	79.5	55.5	+24.0
Sonipat	Haryana	78.0	46.5	+31.5
Baghpat	Uttar Pradesh	77.4	48.5	+28.9
Bulandshahr	Uttar Pradesh	77.0	53.2	+23.8
Rohtak	Haryana	76.8	43.9	+32.9
Vaishali	Bihar	75.6	46.2	+29.4
Aligarh	Uttar Pradesh	75.3	50.6	+24.7
Mahamaya Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	75.3	49.9	+25.4
Panipat	Haryana	74.7	43.7	+31.0
Jaunpur	Uttar Pradesh	74.4	45.1	+29.3
Saran	Bihar	74.3	46.7	+27.6
Etah	Uttar Pradesh	73.9	48.3	+25.6
Samastipur	Bihar	73.7	45.4	+28.3
Gurgaon	Haryana	73.4	44.5	+28.9
Ghazipur	Uttar Pradesh	73.3	45.8	+27.5
Jind	Haryana	73.1	40.4	+32.7
Jhajjar	Haryana	73.1	44.4	+28.7
Kanshiram Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	73.1	46.9	+26.2
Azamgarh	Uttar Pradesh	73.0	45.5	+27.5
Mau	Uttar Pradesh	72.7	45.0	+27.7
Ballia	Uttar Pradesh	72.7	45.9	+26.8
Firozabad	Uttar Pradesh	72.5	44.2	+28.3
Begusarai	Bihar	72.3	43.3	+29.0
Mathura	Uttar Pradesh	72.2	46.6	+25.6
Budaun	Uttar Pradesh	72.2	46.8	+25.4
Pratapgarh	Uttar Pradesh	72.1	42.8	+29.3
Meerut	Uttar Pradesh	72.0	47.7	+24.3
Mainpuri	Uttar Pradesh	71.9	44.4	+27.5
Farrukhabad	Uttar Pradesh	71.7	43.5	+28.2
Siwan	Bihar	71.7	46.0	+25.7
Khagaria	Bihar	71.7	43.0	+28.7
Ambedkar Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	70.2	43.1	+27.1
Buxar	Bihar	70.1	45.0	+25.1
Kanpur Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	70.0	41.6	+28.4
Hardoi	Uttar Pradesh	69.8	41.8	+28.0
Sultanpur	Uttar Pradesh	69.8	42.3	+27.5
Patna	Bihar	69.7	42.9	+26.8
Fatehpur	Uttar Pradesh	69.3	39.5	+29.8
Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	69.3	43.0	+26.3
Hisar	Haryana	69.2	37.2	+32.0
Muzaffarpur	Bihar	69.1	45.6	+23.5
Kaithal	Haryana	68.9	38.3	+30.6
Palwal	Haryana	68.7	48.8	+19.9
Saharsa	Bihar	68.7	42.1	+26.6
Kaushambi	Uttar Pradesh	68.6	38.8	+29.8
Unnao	Uttar Pradesh	68.5	42.5	+26.0
Deoria	Uttar Pradesh	68.5	43.2	+25.3
Shahjahanpur	Uttar Pradesh	68.4	39.8	+28.6
Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	68.4	41.2	+27.2
Bhojpur	Bihar	68.4	43.6	+24.8
Agra	Uttar Pradesh	68.2	40.2	+28.0
Rae Bareli	Uttar Pradesh	68.1	42.1	+26.0
Kannauj	Uttar Pradesh	67.9	42.5	+25.4
Faizabad	Uttar Pradesh	67.7	39.6	+28.1
Gopalganj	Bihar	67.7	45.2	+22.5
Karnal	Haryana	67.6	38.9	+28.7
Gorakhpur	Uttar Pradesh	66.9	40.8	+26.1
Bara Banki	Uttar Pradesh	66.7	38.9	+27.8
Etawah	Uttar Pradesh	66.6	38.7	+27.9
Auraiya	Uttar Pradesh	66.4	39.5	+26.9
Fatehabad	Haryana	66.3	36.3	+30.0
Sitapur	Uttar Pradesh	66.3	36.4	+29.9
Allahabad	Uttar Pradesh	66.2	38.2	+28.0
Sant Ravidas Nagar (Bhadohi)	Uttar Pradesh	66.2	40.7	+25.5
Moga	Punjab	66.1	33.3	+32.8
Darbhanga	Bihar	66.1	42.1	+24.0
Sangrur	Punjab	65.9	36.1	+29.8
Jyotiba Phule Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	65.9	46.3	+19.6
Kanpur Dehat	Uttar Pradesh	65.8	39.7	+26.1
Muzaffarnagar	Uttar Pradesh	65.7	40.6	+25.1
Katihar	Bihar	65.7	38.5	+27.2
Barnala	Punjab	65.6	36.3	+29.3
Gonda	Uttar Pradesh	65.6	35.3	+30.3
Arwal	Bihar	65.6	41.7	+23.9
Jehanabad	Bihar	65.1	41.1	+24.0
Basti	Uttar Pradesh	65.0	37.9	+27.1
Purnia	Bihar	64.8	38.0	+26.8
Nadia	West Bengal	64.8	25.5	+39.3
Faridkot	Punjab	64.7	33.3	+31.4
Sant Kabir Nagar	Uttar Pradesh	64.7	38.6	+26.1
Tarn Taran	Punjab	64.6	31.0	+33.6
Mansa	Punjab	64.5	36.3	+28.2
Bhiwani	Haryana	64.5	35.6	+28.9
Madhepura	Bihar	64.5	39.5	+25.0
Rewari	Haryana	63.9	37.3	+26.6
Bhind	Madhya Pradesh	63.7	35.2	+28.5
Bhagalpur	Bihar	63.6	38.6	+25.0
Hamirpur	Uttar Pradesh	63.2	32.6	+30.6
Nalanda	Bihar	63.2	39.9	+23.3
North Twenty Four Parganas	West Bengal	63.2	22.6	+40.6
Firozpur	Punjab	63.1	31.9	+31.2
Mewat	Haryana	63.0	42.1	+20.9
Hugli	West Bengal	62.9	26.2	+36.7
Ludhiana	Punjab	62.8	32.6	+30.2
Bathinda	Punjab	62.8	35.2	+27.6
Bareilly	Uttar Pradesh	62.8	38.5	+24.3
Jalaun	Uttar Pradesh	62.8	33.3	+29.5
Barddhaman	West Bengal	62.6	30.3	+32.3
Banda	Uttar Pradesh	62.5	32.9	+29.6
Maldah	West Bengal	62.3	32.2	+30.1
Dakshin Dinajpur	West Bengal	62.2	33.6	+28.6
Kurukshetra	Haryana	62.1	35.4	+26.7
Moradabad	Uttar Pradesh	62.1	42.1	+20.0
Muktsar	Punjab	61.9	32.7	+29.2
Kushinagar	Uttar Pradesh	61.7	36.3	+25.4
Bharatpur	Rajasthan	61.4	36.9	+24.5
Patiala	Punjab	61.3	34.1	+27.2
Sirsa	Haryana	61.3	33.7	+27.6
South Twenty Four Parganas	West Bengal	61.1	22.1	+39.0
Munger	Bihar	61.0	38.0	+23.0
Bankura	West Bengal	60.6	33.7	+26.9
Purba Champaran	Bihar	60.4	38.9	+21.5
Amritsar	Punjab	60.3	31.3	+29.0
Chandauli	Uttar Pradesh	60.1	36.8	+23.3
Kapurthala	Punjab	59.9	32.0	+27.9
Jalandhar	Punjab	59.8	31.7	+28.1
Lakhisarai	Bihar	59.7	37.7	+22.0
Bahraich	Uttar Pradesh	59.3	31.2	+28.1
Sheikhpura	Bihar	59.1	38.0	+21.1
Uttar Dinajpur	West Bengal	59.1	33.5	+25.6
Sheohar	Bihar	58.6	40.8	+17.8
Rohtas	Bihar	58.1	35.4	+22.7
Hanumangarh	Rajasthan	58.0	31.9	+26.1
Aurangabad	Bihar	58.0	35.3	+22.7
Murshidabad	West Bengal	57.9	26.8	+31.1
Kheri	Uttar Pradesh	57.8	30.6	+27.2
Mirzapur	Uttar Pradesh	57.8	33.7	+24.1
Chitrakoot	Uttar Pradesh	57.7	32.1	+25.6
Gaya	Bihar	57.5	34.7	+22.8
Dhaulpur	Rajasthan	57.4	31.6	+25.8
Puruliya	West Bengal	57.2	34.5	+22.7
Ganganagar	Rajasthan	57.1	35.3	+21.8
Mahoba	Uttar Pradesh	57.0	27.7	+29.3
Mahendragarh	Haryana	56.4	30.5	+25.9
Haora	West Bengal	56.4	23.5	+32.9
Dhanbad	Jharkhand	56.3	36.1	+20.2
Kaimur (Bhabua)	Bihar	56.2	33.1	+23.1
Madhubani	Bihar	56.1	34.0	+22.1
Supaul	Bihar	55.8	32.5	+23.3
Araria	Bihar	55.8	31.4	+24.4
Ramgarh	Jharkhand	55.8	29.8	+26.0
Rampur	Uttar Pradesh	55.7	35.3	+20.4
Purba Medinipur	West Bengal	55.7	21.1	+34.6
Sahibganj	Jharkhand	55.6	33.1	+22.5
Fatehgarh Sahib	Punjab	55.5	31.2	+24.3
Bokaro	Jharkhand	55.5	35.9	+19.6
Bargarh	Odisha	55.5	18.7	+36.8
Morena	Madhya Pradesh	55.5	30.8	+24.7
Birbhum	West Bengal	55.4	29.6	+25.8
Kolkata	West Bengal	55.3	25.0	+30.3
Datia	Madhya Pradesh	55.3	28.8	+26.5
Janjgir - Champa	Chhattisgarh	54.9	17.8	+37.1
Dhenkanal	Odisha	54.8	21.8	+33.0
Siddharthnagar	Uttar Pradesh	54.7	31.3	+23.4
Nawada	Bihar	54.6	34.6	+20.0
Alwar	Rajasthan	54.5	31.1	+23.4
Sitamarhi	Bihar	54.2	34.9	+19.3
Subarnapur	Odisha	54.2	18.4	+35.8
Mahasamund	Chhattisgarh	54.2	18.6	+35.6
Banka	Bihar	54.1	33.9	+20.2
Durg	Chhattisgarh	54.1	19.0	+35.1
Jhansi	Uttar Pradesh	53.7	27.6	+26.1
Sambalpur	Odisha	53.6	19.7	+33.9
Ambala	Haryana	53.4	30.2	+23.2
Saharanpur	Uttar Pradesh	53.4	30.7	+22.7
Saraikela-Kharsawan	Jharkhand	53.4	31.4	+22.0
Mahrajganj	Uttar Pradesh	53.3	31.2	+22.1
Purbi Singhbhum	Jharkhand	53.3	33.5	+19.8
Shrawasti	Uttar Pradesh	53.2	29.3	+23.9
Pilibhit	Uttar Pradesh	53.1	30.3	+22.8
Pashchimi Singhbhum	Jharkhand	53.0	26.5	+26.5
Jamui	Bihar	52.9	33.1	+19.8
Jharsuguda	Odisha	52.9	18.8	+34.1
Balrampur	Uttar Pradesh	52.8	29.3	+23.5
Rewa	Madhya Pradesh	52.5	27.6	+24.9
Paschim Medinipur	West Bengal	52.4	25.3	+27.1
Palamu	Jharkhand	52.4	25.7	+26.7
Pashchim Champaran	Bihar	52.3	29.9	+22.4
Jagatsinghapur	Odisha	52.3	18.7	+33.6
Anugul	Odisha	52.2	20.9	+31.3
Chatra	Jharkhand	52.1	27.8	+24.3
Debagarh	Odisha	52.1	20.4	+31.7
Gwalior	Madhya Pradesh	52.1	29.0	+23.1
Godda	Jharkhand	51.9	32.5	+19.4
Kendrapara	Odisha	51.9	18.7	+33.2
Raipur	Chhattisgarh	51.9	18.0	+33.9
Pakur	Jharkhand	51.6	29.6	+22.0
Jamtara	Jharkhand	51.6	32.7	+18.9
Khunti	Jharkhand	51.6	24.6	+27.0
Cuttack	Odisha	51.6	18.8	+32.8
Kodarma	Jharkhand	51.4	31.3	+20.1
Yamunanagar	Haryana	51.3	27.2	+24.1
Ranchi	Jharkhand	51.3	26.0	+25.3
Jajapur	Odisha	51.3	19.1	+32.2
Hazaribagh	Jharkhand	51.2	28.6	+22.6
Balangir	Odisha	51.2	16.7	+34.5
Khordha	Odisha	51.1	17.8	+33.3
Bijnor	Uttar Pradesh	51.0	30.0	+21.0
Sonbhadra	Uttar Pradesh	51.0	24.9	+26.1
Giridih	Jharkhand	50.9	31.3	+19.6
Raigarh	Chhattisgarh	50.7	17.9	+32.8
South Tripura	Tripura	50.6	18.9	+31.7
Sundargarh	Odisha	50.6	20.4	+30.2
Kendujhar	Odisha	50.5	21.9	+28.6
Garhwa	Jharkhand	50.4	22.2	+28.2
Simdega	Jharkhand	50.2	21.0	+29.2
Kishanganj	Bihar	50.1	28.6	+21.5
Satna	Madhya Pradesh	50.0	23.0	+27.0
West Tripura	Tripura	49.9	18.4	+31.5
Nayagarh	Odisha	49.9	18.6	+31.3
Gumla	Jharkhand	49.8	18.9	+30.9
Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar	Punjab	49.5	27.9	+21.6
Baudh	Odisha	49.5	19.0	+30.5
Latehar	Jharkhand	49.4	21.7	+27.7
Puri	Odisha	49.4	18.5	+30.9
Chandigarh	Chandigarh	49.3	25.7	+23.6
Anand	Gujarat	49.3	30.1	+19.2
Bhadrak	Odisha	49.2	18.4	+30.8
Singrauli	Madhya Pradesh	49.2	22.0	+27.2
Sidhi	Madhya Pradesh	49.1	21.7	+27.4
Dausa	Rajasthan	48.9	27.1	+21.8
Deoghar	Jharkhand	48.8	31.0	+17.8
Ahmadabad	Gujarat	48.8	33.4	+15.4
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar	Punjab	48.7	25.9	+22.8
Lohardaga	Jharkhand	48.6	20.0	+28.6
Bilaspur	Chhattisgarh	48.5	17.3	+31.2
Churu	Rajasthan	48.3	27.4	+20.9
Jhunjhunun	Rajasthan	48.1	27.2	+20.9
Hyderabad	Andhra Pradesh	47.9	19.5	+28.4
Karauli	Rajasthan	47.8	28.0	+19.8
Bharuch	Gujarat	47.6	26.7	+20.9
Nuapada	Odisha	47.5	16.4	+31.1
Dhamtari	Chhattisgarh	47.5	16.2	+31.3
Sawai Madhopur	Rajasthan	47.4	28.9	+18.5
Tonk	Rajasthan	46.9	29.6	+17.3
Dumka	Jharkhand	46.9	29.7	+17.2
Surguja	Chhattisgarh	46.9	17.3	+29.6
Rajnandgaon	Chhattisgarh	46.8	16.8	+30.0
Chhatarpur	Madhya Pradesh	46.8	23.0	+23.8
Mumbai Suburban	Maharashtra	46.8	27.3	+19.5
Gurdaspur	Punjab	46.6	25.6	+21.0
Hardwar	Uttarakhand	46.6	24.5	+22.1
Bikaner	Rajasthan	46.5	36.1	+10.4
Jashpur	Chhattisgarh	46.5	16.9	+29.6
Korba	Chhattisgarh	46.5	18.4	+28.1
Jaipur	Rajasthan	46.4	27.5	+18.9
Mayurbhanj	Odisha	46.2	23.6	+22.6
Mumbai	Maharashtra	46.2	30.5	+15.7
Kabeerdham	Chhattisgarh	45.9	16.1	+29.8
Shahdol	Madhya Pradesh	45.8	18.7	+27.1
Tikamgarh	Madhya Pradesh	45.6	22.0	+23.6
Rupnagar	Punjab	45.3	22.3	+23.0
Ganjam	Odisha	45.3	16.1	+29.2
Kalahandi	Odisha	45.2	15.3	+29.9
Panna	Madhya Pradesh	45.1	22.4	+22.7
Kheda	Gujarat	45.1	30.3	+14.8
Bundi	Rajasthan	45.0	27.6	+17.4
Katni	Madhya Pradesh	44.8	19.5	+25.3
Sikar	Rajasthan	44.7	26.8	+17.9
Nagaur	Rajasthan	44.7	32.3	+12.4
Baleshwar	Odisha	44.7	19.9	+24.8
Udham Singh Nagar	Uttarakhand	44.5	23.1	+21.4
Kota	Rajasthan	44.4	25.3	+19.1
Bhavnagar	Gujarat	44.4	29.2	+15.2
Jaisalmer	Rajasthan	44.3	32.5	+11.8
Vadodara	Gujarat	44.2	25.5	+18.7
Bhandara	Maharashtra	44.2	16.9	+27.3
Hoshiarpur	Punjab	44.1	24.8	+19.3
Koriya	Chhattisgarh	44.0	17.7	+26.3
Gondiya	Maharashtra	44.0	16.3	+27.7
Jabalpur	Madhya Pradesh	43.9	18.2	+25.7
Surat	Gujarat	43.8	24.4	+19.4
Panchkula	Haryana	43.7	20.9	+22.8
Dhubri	Assam	43.7	23.0	+20.7
Umaria	Madhya Pradesh	43.7	18.6	+25.1
Jalgaon	Maharashtra	43.7	18.1	+25.6
Gandhinagar	Gujarat	43.6	31.1	+12.5
Kandhamal	Odisha	43.5	15.6	+27.9
Dhar	Madhya Pradesh	43.4	20.4	+23.0
Khargone (West Nimar)	Madhya Pradesh	43.3	19.2	+24.1
Vizianagaram	Andhra Pradesh	43.2	14.2	+29.0
Indore	Madhya Pradesh	43.1	20.3	+22.8
Anuppur	Madhya Pradesh	43.1	16.5	+26.6
Dhule	Maharashtra	43.1	19.0	+24.1
Lalitpur	Uttar Pradesh	43.0	20.8	+22.2
Akola	Maharashtra	43.0	17.1	+25.9
Jodhpur	Rajasthan	42.9	37.9	+5.0
Barmer	Rajasthan	42.9	39.1	+3.8
Sheopur	Madhya Pradesh	42.9	25.1	+17.8
Ujjain	Madhya Pradesh	42.9	19.6	+23.3
Nagpur	Maharashtra	42.9	17.7	+25.2
West Garo Hills	Meghalaya	42.8	19.8	+23.0
Barwani	Madhya Pradesh	42.8	20.0	+22.8
Mandsaur	Madhya Pradesh	42.7	20.5	+22.2
Mahesana	Gujarat	42.7	31.4	+11.3
Wardha	Maharashtra	42.7	17.2	+25.5
Ajmer	Rajasthan	42.6	28.5	+14.1
Baran	Rajasthan	42.6	23.4	+19.2
Damoh	Madhya Pradesh	42.5	20.0	+22.5
Vidisha	Madhya Pradesh	42.5	20.0	+22.5
Ashoknagar	Madhya Pradesh	42.5	21.6	+20.9
Srikakulam	Andhra Pradesh	42.5	14.8	+27.7
Ratlam	Madhya Pradesh	42.4	19.7	+22.7
Patan	Gujarat	42.4	30.9	+11.5
Surendranagar	Gujarat	42.4	28.6	+13.8
Jalna	Maharashtra	42.3	15.8	+26.5
Ahmadnagar	Maharashtra	42.3	16.1	+26.2
Rayagada	Odisha	42.2	14.6	+27.6
Narsimhapur	Madhya Pradesh	42.2	18.2	+24.0
Jhalawar	Rajasthan	42.1	21.9	+20.2
Sagar	Madhya Pradesh	42.1	19.4	+22.7
Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh	42.1	19.4	+22.7
Seoni	Madhya Pradesh	42.1	17.3	+24.8
Gajapati	Odisha	42.0	13.9	+28.1
Balaghat	Madhya Pradesh	42.0	16.1	+25.9
Shivpuri	Madhya Pradesh	41.9	22.8	+19.1
Aurangabad	Maharashtra	41.9	16.1	+25.8
Shajapur	Madhya Pradesh	41.8	18.9	+22.9
Kamrup	Assam	41.7	21.1	+20.6
Rajgarh	Madhya Pradesh	41.7	19.3	+22.4
Nandurbar	Maharashtra	41.7	19.2	+22.5
Buldana	Maharashtra	41.7	16.5	+25.2
Khandwa (East Nimar)	Madhya Pradesh	41.6	18.6	+23.0
Jalpaiguri	West Bengal	41.5	22.0	+19.5
Burhanpur	Madhya Pradesh	41.5	17.7	+23.8
Pali	Rajasthan	41.4	34.6	+6.8
Panch Mahals	Gujarat	41.4	26.2	+15.2
Washim	Maharashtra	41.3	16.0	+25.3
Yavatmal	Maharashtra	41.3	16.7	+24.6
Jalor	Rajasthan	41.2	40.6	+0.6
Koch Bihar	West Bengal	41.2	25.8	+15.4
Guna	Madhya Pradesh	41.2	21.6	+19.6
Nabarangapur	Odisha	41.0	14.3	+26.7
Jhabua	Madhya Pradesh	41.0	20.5	+20.5
Rajkot	Gujarat	41.0	25.8	+15.2
Chandrapur	Maharashtra	41.0	16.6	+24.4
Dewas	Madhya Pradesh	40.8	18.8	+22.0
Sehore	Madhya Pradesh	40.8	18.5	+22.3
Raisen	Madhya Pradesh	40.8	19.2	+21.6
Banswara	Rajasthan	40.7	21.6	+19.1
Goalpara	Assam	40.7	20.3	+20.4
Uttar Bastar Kanker	Chhattisgarh	40.7	15.0	+25.7
Kachchh	Gujarat	40.6	25.1	+15.5
Navsari	Gujarat	40.6	21.0	+19.6
Amravati	Maharashtra	40.6	16.8	+23.8
Karimnagar	Andhra Pradesh	40.6	16.9	+23.7
Harda	Madhya Pradesh	40.5	17.4	+23.1
Mandla	Madhya Pradesh	40.5	16.7	+23.8
Hingoli	Maharashtra	40.5	15.6	+24.9
Pune	Maharashtra	40.5	16.9	+23.6
Banas Kantha	Gujarat	40.4	32.0	+8.4
Narmada	Gujarat	40.3	22.0	+18.3
Parbhani	Maharashtra	40.3	15.1	+25.2
Bhilwara	Rajasthan	40.2	27.5	+12.7
Hoshangabad	Madhya Pradesh	40.0	18.0	+22.0
Sabar Kantha	Gujarat	40.0	26.4	+13.6
Dhalai	Tripura	39.9	17.0	+22.9
Kamrup Metropolitan	Assam	39.7	20.7	+19.0
Tapi	Gujarat	39.7	19.7	+20.0
Bid	Maharashtra	39.7	14.4	+25.3
Dungarpur	Rajasthan	39.6	25.2	+14.4
Dindori	Madhya Pradesh	39.6	15.5	+24.1
Gadchiroli	Maharashtra	39.6	15.5	+24.1
Dohad	Gujarat	39.5	22.4	+17.1
Nanded	Maharashtra	39.5	15.6	+23.9
Nashik	Maharashtra	39.4	17.3	+22.1
Sirohi	Rajasthan	39.3	30.5	+8.8
Alirajpur	Madhya Pradesh	39.3	21.2	+18.1
Daman	Daman and Diu	39.3	21.2	+18.1
Adilabad	Andhra Pradesh	39.2	15.8	+23.4
Neemuch	Madhya Pradesh	38.8	21.1	+17.7
West Godavari	Andhra Pradesh	38.7	14.7	+24.0
Chittaurgarh	Rajasthan	38.6	23.5	+15.1
Pratapgarh	Rajasthan	38.6	21.1	+17.5
Amreli	Gujarat	38.6	24.1	+14.5
Udaipur	Rajasthan	38.5	24.3	+14.2
Rajsamand	Rajasthan	38.4	27.1	+11.3
Malkangiri	Odisha	38.4	14.1	+24.3
Bastar	Chhattisgarh	38.4	14.1	+24.3
Thane	Maharashtra	38.4	21.4	+17.0
Nizamabad	Andhra Pradesh	38.4	16.0	+22.4
Chhindwara	Madhya Pradesh	38.3	16.6	+21.7
Warangal	Andhra Pradesh	38.3	15.8	+22.5
East Garo Hills	Meghalaya	38.1	18.1	+20.0
Barpeta	Assam	38.0	21.5	+16.5
Solapur	Maharashtra	37.9	14.1	+23.8
Darjiling	West Bengal	37.8	24.1	+13.7
Nalgonda	Andhra Pradesh	37.8	16.5	+21.3
Krishna	Andhra Pradesh	37.8	15.4	+22.4
Raigarh	Maharashtra	37.6	19.9	+17.7
Latur	Maharashtra	37.6	13.8	+23.8
Osmanabad	Maharashtra	37.6	13.5	+24.1
Visakhapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	37.6	12.9	+24.7
Jamnagar	Gujarat	37.5	25.6	+11.9
Yanam	Puducherry	37.4	16.2	+21.2
Bijapur	Chhattisgarh	37.3	14.8	+22.5
North Tripura	Tripura	37.2	16.5	+20.7
South Garo Hills	Meghalaya	37.2	17.7	+19.5
Morigaon	Assam	37.2	20.4	+16.8
Khammam	Andhra Pradesh	37.2	15.2	+22.0
Chennai	Tamil Nadu	37.2	19.1	+18.1
Kokrajhar	Assam	37.1	18.6	+18.5
Dakshin Bastar Dantewada	Chhattisgarh	37.1	14.0	+23.1
Narayanpur	Chhattisgarh	37.0	14.2	+22.8
Koraput	Odisha	36.9	12.8	+24.1
East Godavari	Andhra Pradesh	36.8	13.5	+23.3
Karimganj	Assam	36.6	17.7	+18.9
Betul	Madhya Pradesh	36.6	16.4	+20.2
Medak	Andhra Pradesh	36.6	15.5	+21.1
Bishnupur	Manipur	36.4	15.7	+20.7
Una	Himachal Pradesh	36.3	18.7	+17.6
Valsad	Gujarat	36.3	19.5	+16.8
Guntur	Andhra Pradesh	36.1	15.0	+21.1
Nalbari	Assam	36.0	20.7	+15.3
Hailakandi	Assam	35.9	17.6	+18.3
Chirang	Assam	35.7	17.4	+18.3
Porbandar	Gujarat	35.6	29.3	+6.3
Bongaigaon	Assam	35.5	18.4	+17.1
Dehradun	Uttarakhand	35.4	22.2	+13.2
Darrang	Assam	35.4	20.1	+15.3
Solan	Himachal Pradesh	35.2	17.9	+17.3
Nainital	Uttarakhand	35.1	21.9	+13.2
Cachar	Assam	35.1	17.1	+18.0
Diu	Daman and Diu	35.0	26.9	+8.1
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	35.0	18.8	+16.2
Jammu	Jammu and Kashmir	34.9	20.5	+14.4
The Dangs	Gujarat	34.9	18.1	+16.8
Thoubal	Manipur	34.7	16.3	+18.4
Rangareddy	Andhra Pradesh	34.7	14.8	+19.9
Junagadh	Gujarat	34.5	23.9	+10.6
Ribhoi	Meghalaya	34.4	16.1	+18.3
Satara	Maharashtra	34.3	14.0	+20.3
Gulbarga	Karnataka	34.3	13.7	+20.6
Samba	Jammu and Kashmir	34.2	17.2	+17.0
Udalguri	Assam	34.2	15.6	+18.6
Imphal West	Manipur	34.1	16.7	+17.4
Bidar	Karnataka	34.1	13.7	+20.4
Thiruvallur	Tamil Nadu	33.7	15.9	+17.8
Sirmaur	Himachal Pradesh	33.6	19.3	+14.3
Sangli	Maharashtra	33.6	13.2	+20.4
Dimapur	Nagaland	33.5	18.6	+14.9
South District	Sikkim	33.2	20.7	+12.5
Bilaspur	Himachal Pradesh	33.0	17.5	+15.5
Kancheepuram	Tamil Nadu	32.9	15.9	+17.0
Imphal East	Manipur	32.7	17.1	+15.6
West Khasi Hills	Meghalaya	32.7	14.5	+18.2
Kolasib	Mizoram	32.6	16.8	+15.8
Baksa	Assam	32.6	16.5	+16.1
Bijapur	Karnataka	32.4	13.0	+19.4
Nagaon	Assam	32.2	17.7	+14.5
Garhwal	Uttarakhand	31.9	20.9	+11.0
Karbi Anglong	Assam	31.7	16.6	+15.1
Tiruvannamalai	Tamil Nadu	31.7	14.5	+17.2
West District	Sikkim	31.5	17.4	+14.1
Prakasam	Andhra Pradesh	31.5	14.4	+17.1
Erode	Tamil Nadu	31.5	14.0	+17.5
Salem	Tamil Nadu	31.4	13.8	+17.6
East District	Sikkim	31.3	19.4	+11.9
Dima Hasao	Assam	31.2	15.7	+15.5
Puducherry	Puducherry	31.2	15.0	+16.2
Hamirpur	Himachal Pradesh	31.1	16.8	+14.3
Jaintia Hills	Meghalaya	31.1	12.2	+18.9
Mahe	Puducherry	31.1	17.1	+14.0
Sonitpur	Assam	31.0	14.9	+16.1
Tehri Garhwal	Uttarakhand	30.9	18.5	+12.4
East Khasi Hills	Meghalaya	30.9	13.2	+17.7
Ratnagiri	Maharashtra	30.9	16.8	+14.1
Golaghat	Assam	30.8	18.6	+12.2
Viluppuram	Tamil Nadu	30.8	15.4	+15.4
Dharmapuri	Tamil Nadu	30.8	13.6	+17.2
Yadgir	Karnataka	30.6	14.1	+16.5
Vellore	Tamil Nadu	30.6	13.4	+17.2
Mahbubnagar	Andhra Pradesh	30.5	14.4	+16.1
Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore	Andhra Pradesh	30.4	15.9	+14.5
Y.S.R.	Andhra Pradesh	30.4	13.6	+16.8
Kolhapur	Maharashtra	30.3	13.5	+16.8
Raichur	Karnataka	30.3	14.2	+16.1
Kozhikode	Kerala	30.3	12.7	+17.6
Mamit	Mizoram	30.2	15.8	+14.4
Kathua	Jammu and Kashmir	30.0	20.1	+9.9
Chandel	Manipur	30.0	17.9	+12.1
Kurnool	Andhra Pradesh	30.0	13.5	+16.5
Tiruppur	Tamil Nadu	30.0	14.2	+15.8
Peren	Nagaland	29.8	16.8	+13.0
Bangalore	Karnataka	29.8	11.6	+18.2
Malappuram	Kerala	29.8	12.1	+17.7
Champawat	Uttarakhand	29.7	21.0	+8.7
Wokha	Nagaland	29.7	19.4	+10.3
Namakkal	Tamil Nadu	29.7	14.0	+15.7
North Goa	Goa	29.6	15.2	+14.4
Kangra	Himachal Pradesh	29.5	17.5	+12.0
Tamenglong	Manipur	29.2	15.3	+13.9
Sindhudurg	Maharashtra	29.2	15.5	+13.7
Perambalur	Tamil Nadu	29.2	14.2	+15.0
Belgaum	Karnataka	29.0	12.5	+16.5
Karur	Tamil Nadu	28.9	14.4	+14.5
Cuddalore	Tamil Nadu	28.9	15.1	+13.8
Krishnagiri	Tamil Nadu	28.9	12.6	+16.3
Bagalkot	Karnataka	28.8	12.0	+16.8
Mandi	Himachal Pradesh	28.7	17.4	+11.3
Bageshwar	Uttarakhand	28.7	16.5	+12.2
Almora	Uttarakhand	28.5	18.2	+10.3
Chittoor	Andhra Pradesh	28.4	13.0	+15.4
Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu	28.4	13.2	+15.2
Churachandpur	Manipur	28.3	15.7	+12.6
Virudhunagar	Tamil Nadu	28.2	12.6	+15.6
Lawngtlai	Mizoram	28.1	16.2	+11.9
Dindigul	Tamil Nadu	28.1	13.3	+14.8
Jorhat	Assam	27.9	19.1	+8.8
Rudraprayag	Uttarakhand	27.8	16.8	+11.0
North District	Sikkim	27.8	15.0	+12.8
South Goa	Goa	27.8	15.6	+12.2
Ramanagara	Karnataka	27.7	11.4	+16.3
Tiruchirappalli	Tamil Nadu	27.7	14.4	+13.3
Lunglei	Mizoram	27.6	15.5	+12.1
Madurai	Tamil Nadu	27.5	12.9	+14.6
Rajouri	Jammu and Kashmir	27.3	22.1	+5.2
Kohima	Nagaland	27.3	17.4	+9.9
Bellary	Karnataka	27.3	11.9	+15.4
Palakkad	Kerala	27.3	11.5	+15.8
Mokokchung	Nagaland	27.1	19.8	+7.3
Aizawl	Mizoram	27.1	14.7	+12.4
Anantapur	Andhra Pradesh	26.9	12.3	+14.6
Theni	Tamil Nadu	26.8	12.4	+14.4
Lakhimpur	Assam	26.7	15.2	+11.5
Ariyalur	Tamil Nadu	26.7	14.3	+12.4
Uttarkashi	Uttarakhand	26.6	16.4	+10.2
Udhampur	Jammu and Kashmir	26.5	21.8	+4.7
Mon	Nagaland	26.5	22.3	+4.2
Kannur	Kerala	26.5	12.1	+14.4
Longleng	Nagaland	26.4	21.2	+5.2
Saiha	Mizoram	26.4	14.9	+11.5
Koppal	Karnataka	26.4	12.1	+14.3
Lakshadweep	Lakshadweep	26.4	15.0	+11.4
Mandya	Karnataka	26.3	10.8	+15.5
Ernakulam	Kerala	26.3	12.1	+14.2
Ukhrul	Manipur	26.2	17.5	+8.7
Udupi	Karnataka	26.1	14.1	+12.0
Shimla	Himachal Pradesh	26.0	16.1	+9.9
Nagapattinam	Tamil Nadu	26.0	15.6	+10.4
Thiruvarur	Tamil Nadu	26.0	15.1	+10.9
Dakshina Kannada	Karnataka	25.9	13.1	+12.8
Senapati	Manipur	25.8	16.4	+9.4
Chamarajanagar	Karnataka	25.8	12.4	+13.4
Kolar	Karnataka	25.8	11.1	+14.7
Thanjavur	Tamil Nadu	25.8	14.6	+11.2
Gadag	Karnataka	25.7	11.8	+13.9
Sivaganga	Tamil Nadu	25.7	14.4	+11.3
Ramanathapuram	Tamil Nadu	25.7	14.6	+11.1
Kullu	Himachal Pradesh	25.5	16.3	+9.2
Uttara Kannada	Karnataka	25.2	13.6	+11.6
Pudukkottai	Tamil Nadu	25.2	14.7	+10.5
Thoothukkudi	Tamil Nadu	25.2	13.0	+12.2
Karaikal	Puducherry	25.2	15.0	+10.2
Zunheboto	Nagaland	25.1	18.2	+6.9
Chikkaballapura	Karnataka	25.1	10.6	+14.5
Bangalore Rural	Karnataka	25.1	10.3	+14.8
Dharwad	Karnataka	25.0	12.1	+12.9
Kasaragod	Kerala	25.0	13.3	+11.7
Reasi	Jammu and Kashmir	24.9	22.3	+2.6
The Nilgiris	Tamil Nadu	24.9	12.6	+12.3
Tirap	Arunachal Pradesh	24.8	20.2	+4.6
Champhai	Mizoram	24.8	15.7	+9.1
Serchhip	Mizoram	24.8	14.3	+10.5
Idukki	Kerala	24.7	12.3	+12.4
Phek	Nagaland	24.6	18.3	+6.3
Tumkur	Karnataka	24.6	10.4	+14.2
Punch	Jammu and Kashmir	24.5	20.0	+4.5
Thrissur	Kerala	24.5	12.4	+12.1
Kottayam	Kerala	24.5	10.9	+13.6
Badgam	Jammu and Kashmir	24.3	18.5	+5.8
Chamoli	Uttarakhand	24.3	15.7	+8.6
Sivasagar	Assam	24.2	19.4	+4.8
West Kameng	Arunachal Pradesh	24.0	13.4	+10.6
Alappuzha	Kerala	24.0	13.2	+10.8
Baramula	Jammu and Kashmir	23.9	17.8	+6.1
Pithoragarh	Uttarakhand	23.9	16.0	+7.9
Doda	Jammu and Kashmir	23.6	17.5	+6.1
Mysore	Karnataka	23.4	10.8	+12.6
Srinagar	Jammu and Kashmir	23.3	17.3	+6.0
Chamba	Himachal Pradesh	23.3	17.8	+5.5
Tuensang	Nagaland	23.2	19.9	+3.3
Chitradurga	Karnataka	23.2	10.8	+12.4
Tirunelveli	Tamil Nadu	23.2	11.5	+11.7
Shupiyan	Jammu and Kashmir	23.1	17.2	+5.9
Wayanad	Kerala	23.1	11.3	+11.8
Kiphire	Nagaland	22.9	19.7	+3.2
Haveri	Karnataka	22.9	11.4	+11.5
Chikmagalur	Karnataka	22.8	11.2	+11.6
Kodagu	Karnataka	22.8	11.6	+11.2
Davanagere	Karnataka	22.7	11.1	+11.6
Tinsukia	Assam	22.6	16.4	+6.2
Pathanamthitta	Kerala	22.6	10.6	+12.0
Ramban	Jammu and Kashmir	22.5	18.5	+4.0
Kanniyakumari	Tamil Nadu	22.5	11.4	+11.1
East Kameng	Arunachal Pradesh	22.4	14.2	+8.2
Shimoga	Karnataka	22.4	12.1	+10.3
Thiruvananthapuram	Kerala	22.4	11.4	+11.0
Hassan	Karnataka	22.3	10.2	+12.1
Dhemaji	Assam	22.2	14.3	+7.9
Dibrugarh	Assam	22.2	15.3	+6.9
Kulgam	Jammu and Kashmir	21.6	19.7	+1.9
Papum Pare	Arunachal Pradesh	21.6	13.8	+7.8
Kollam	Kerala	21.6	10.9	+10.7
Kinnaur	Himachal Pradesh	21.5	15.7	+5.8
Changlang	Arunachal Pradesh	21.5	16.1	+5.4
Lohit	Arunachal Pradesh	21.5	18.2	+3.3
Pulwama	Jammu and Kashmir	21.3	14.7	+6.6
Tawang	Arunachal Pradesh	21.3	13.5	+7.8
Kupwara	Jammu and Kashmir	21.1	16.4	+4.7
Lahul and Spiti	Himachal Pradesh	21.0	15.7	+5.3
North and Middle Andaman	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	20.8	12.2	+8.6
Anantnag	Jammu and Kashmir	19.9	15.7	+4.2
Ganderbal	Jammu and Kashmir	19.6	15.5	+4.1
Bandipore	Jammu and Kashmir	19.4	15.7	+3.7
Kishtwar	Jammu and Kashmir	19.0	15.8	+3.2
South Andaman	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	18.8	10.3	+8.5
Lower Subansiri	Arunachal Pradesh	18.7	14.3	+4.4
East Siang	Arunachal Pradesh	18.4	15.6	+2.8
Lower Dibang Valley	Arunachal Pradesh	18.1	15.5	+2.6
Kurung Kumey	Arunachal Pradesh	17.5	12.2	+5.3
Kargil	Jammu and Kashmir	16.5	13.9	+2.6
West Siang	Arunachal Pradesh	15.8	12.6	+3.2
Upper Subansiri	Arunachal Pradesh	15.6	12.1	+3.5
Anjaw	Arunachal Pradesh	15.4	11.3	+4.1
Upper Siang	Arunachal Pradesh	14.0	11.9	+2.1
Dibang Valley	Arunachal Pradesh	12.8	10.1	+2.7
Nicobars	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	12.8	7.8	+5.0
Leh (Ladakh)	Jammu and Kashmir	11.6	10.1	+1.5

Data & Sources

PM2.5 estimates (ACAG V6.GL.02.04). Shen, S., Li, C., van Donkelaar, A., Jacobs, N., Wang, C., & Martin, R. V. (2024). Enhancing global estimation of fine particulate matter concentrations by including geophysical a priori information in deep learning. ACS ES&T Air, 1(5), 332–345. doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.3c00054 ↗
van Donkelaar, A., Hammer, M. S., Bindle, L., Brauer, M., Brook, J. R., Garay, M. J., Hsu, N. C., Kalashnikova, O. V., Kahn, R. A., Lee, C., Levy, R. C., Lyapustin, A., Sayer, A. M., & Martin, R. V. (2021). Monthly global estimates of fine particulate matter and their uncertainty. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(22), 15287–15300. doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05309 ↗
Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. Surface PM2.5, V6.GL.02.04, monthly and annual means 1998–2023. sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5 ↗
District boundaries (SHRUG v2.1). Asher, S., Lunt, T., Matsuura, R., & Novosad, P. (2021). Development research at high geographic resolution: an analysis of night-lights, firms, and poverty in India using the SHRUG open data platform. The World Bank Economic Review, 35(4), 845–871. Development Data Lab, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. The layer also holds the part of Jammu and Kashmir that the 2011 census did not cover; it belongs to no district, so it is left out of the table and the counts; on the map it still answers, with its monthly means taken from the 0.01° grids like every district’s. devdatalab.org/shrug ↗
Elevation. Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen), merged from NASA SRTM and USGS GMTED2010, resampled to the map grid and exaggerated about 20 times in height. registry.opendata.aws/terrain-tiles ↗
Standards. Central Pollution Control Board (2009). National Ambient Air Quality Standards: PM2.5, 40 µg/m³ as an annual mean. cpcb.nic.in/national-ambient-air-quality-standards ↗
World Health Organization (2021). WHO global air quality guidelines: particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. PM2.5, 5 µg/m³ as an annual mean. who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228 ↗

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