Air quality comparison · India, 1237 km apart
Ahmedabad vs Bengaluru Air quality index (AQI) today
Ahmedabad has cleaner air than Bengaluru right now: AQI 119 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 171 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Bengaluru averaged AQI 77 against 87, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Bengaluru has more tree cover.
India
AQI 119
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 42.9 µg/m³2.9× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 21:00 local
India
AQI 171
Unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 84 µg/m³5.6× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 21:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Ahmedabad119Bengaluru171
Head to head
Ahmedabad vs Bengaluru at a glance
Bengaluru is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Ahmedabad on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Ahmedabad | Bengaluru | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 119 (better) | 171 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 42.9 (better) | 84 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 87 | 77 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.4% | 36.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 68.7K | 10.4K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru right now?
Ahmedabad has cleaner air than Bengaluru right now: AQI 119 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 171 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Ahmedabad's PM2.5 is about 2.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Bengaluru's PM2.5 is about 5.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
AhmedabadBengaluru
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Ahmedabad: Ground station · Raikhad, Ahmedabad - IITM, 1 km away · median of 8 stations. Data: OpenAQ · CPCB, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India (GODL-India).
Bengaluru: Ground station · Hombegowda Nagar, Bengaluru - KSPCB, 3.7 km away · median of 7 stations. Data: OpenAQ · CPCB, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India (GODL-India).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Bengaluru averaged AQI 77 against 87, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Ahmedabad3Bengaluru4
- Average AQI
- Ahmedabad87Bengaluru77
- Worst day, AQI
- Ahmedabad99Bengaluru115
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Ahmedabad | Bengaluru |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 93 | 62 |
| Nov 6 | 99 | 47 |
| Nov 7 | 97 | 54 |
| Nov 8 | 93 | 58 |
| Nov 9 | 89 | 95 |
| Nov 10 | 76 | 115 |
| Nov 11 | 65 | 109 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru today?
Ahmedabad (AQI 119, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Bengaluru (AQI 171, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Exercise outdoors
- Ahmedabad
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Bengaluru
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
Windows
- Ahmedabad
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Bengaluru
- Keep them closed.
Masks
- Ahmedabad
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Bengaluru
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Ahmedabad
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Bengaluru
- Run one.
Against everywhere else
How do Ahmedabad and Bengaluru compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Ahmedabad's air is cleaner than 16% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Bengaluru's is cleaner than 6%. Within India, that is 60% and 28% of its 471 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Ahmedabad
- Beats 16%
- Bengaluru
- Beats 6%
More tree cover than…
- Ahmedabad
- Beats 27%
- Bengaluru
- Beats 79%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Ahmedabad
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Bengaluru
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Ahmedabad or Bengaluru?
Bengaluru has more tree cover: 36.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.4% around Ahmedabad, or about 115,296 trees against 37,670.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Ahmedabad | Bengaluru | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 37.7K | 115K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 68.7K | 10.4K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 829K kg | 2.5M kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Ahmedabad vs Bengaluru: your questions answered
Is Ahmedabad cleaner than Bengaluru?
On air quality, yes, right now: Ahmedabad reads AQI 119 against 171, a gap of 52 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Bengaluru averaged AQI 77 against 87, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru today?
In Ahmedabad, at AQI 119: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Bengaluru, at AQI 171: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Which has more trees, Ahmedabad or Bengaluru?
Bengaluru has more tree cover: 36.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.4% around Ahmedabad, or about 115,296 trees against 37,670. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Ahmedabad and Bengaluru need?
Ahmedabad needs about 68,657 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Bengaluru about 10,367 to reach 40%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Ahmedabad and Bengaluru measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Ahmedabad vs Bengaluru comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Oct 15, 2026 and Oct 14, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Ahmedabad with somewhere else
This place
Ahmedabad