Country comparison · 779 cities measured
India vs United States Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation
United States has cleaner air than India right now: its cities average AQI 43 against 135.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are India 127 (205 cities) and United States 43 (283 cities). United States has lost more forest since 2001. India has more tree cover in its cities.
Average of 471 cities
AQI 135
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 127
- Tree cover
- 27.3%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2.6 million ha
Average of 308 cities
AQI 43
Good
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 43
- Tree cover
- 25.1%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 126 million acres (51 million ha)
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
India135United States43
Head to head
India vs United States at a glance
India and United States are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| India | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities. | 135 | 43 (better) |
| At ground stationsCities with a current station reading. | 127 | 43 (better) |
| Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups. | 61% | 2% (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001The whole country. | 2.6 million ha (better) | 126 million acres (51 million ha) |
| Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000. | 6.7% (better) | 18% |
| Average tree coverAcross its measured cities. | 27.3% (better) | 25.1% |
Air quality today
Is United States cleaner than India?
On air quality, yes, right now. United States has cleaner air than India right now: its cities average AQI 43 against 135.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are India 127 (205 cities) and United States 43 (283 cities).
61% of the measured cities in India are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 2% in the United States.
How each country's cities split across the air quality bands
India
- Good4 (1%)
- Moderate180 (38%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups140 (30%)
- Unhealthy109 (23%)
- Very unhealthy21 (4%)
- Hazardous17 (4%)
United States
- Good193 (63%)
- Moderate108 (35%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups7 (2%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How do India and United States compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of India average cleaner air than 1% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of the United States than 69%.
Cleaner air than…
- India
- Beats 1%
- United States
- Beats 69%
More tree cover than…
- India
- Beats 59%
- United States
- Beats 52%
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which country has lost more forest, India or United States?
United States has lost more: about 126 million acres (51 million ha) of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 2.6 million ha in India, or 20 times as much. 9.87 million acres (4 million ha) of United States's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
The whole country, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: unlike the city averages above, this counts every forest, not just the land around cities.
Worst year: 2017, with 190,000 ha lost.
Worst year: 2004, with 6.77 million acres (2.74 million ha) lost.
| India | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2.6 million ha (better) | 126 million acres (51 million ha) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 6.7% (better) | 18% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 730,000 ha (better) | 9.87 million acres (4 million ha) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Shifting farming (59%) | Logging (62%) |
Trees
Which country has more tree cover, India or United States?
India does: its measured cities average 27.3% tree cover against 25.1%, a gap of 2.1 percentage points.
| India | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingSummed across measured cities. | 39.1M (better) | 23.3M |
| Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target. | 76% | 64% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach those targets. | 16.8M | 8.2M (better) |
Behind the averages
The cities behind India and United States
An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.
United States
- Greenest measured city
- South Fulton71.7% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- RaleighAQI 115
Reading these numbers
What a country average is, and is not
It is a mean of cities
Not a national statistic. Each figure is the average across the cities Airleaf has measured: 471 in India and 308 in the United States, each read over the same 2 km radius, on the US EPA index. Rural land and unmeasured towns are not in it.
Coverage shapes the number
A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. India rests on 471 cities against 308, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
Frequently asked
India vs United States: your questions answered
Is United States cleaner than India?
On air quality, yes, right now: United States's cities average AQI 43 against 135 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are India 127 (205 cities) and United States 43 (283 cities).
Which country has lost more forest, India or United States?
United States has lost more: about 126 million acres (51 million ha) of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 2.6 million ha in India, or 20 times as much. 9.87 million acres (4 million ha) of United States's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
Which country has more tree cover, India or United States?
India does: its measured cities average 27.3% tree cover against 25.1%, a gap of 2.1 percentage points.
How many cities are the India and United States figures based on?
471 measured cities in India and 308 in the United States. Every one was read the same way, so the two averages are directly comparable, but a country with more measured cities has the more settled figure.
Why are there two air quality averages for each country?
The first covers every measured city, using a ground station where one is close and a model estimate everywhere else. The second counts only cities with a current station reading, which is measured rather than estimated but covers fewer places. Airleaf's world rankings use the station figures only.
Does this cover the whole of India and the United States?
The air and tree figures are not: they are the cities Airleaf has measured, each over the same 2 km radius, so treat them as a comparison of urban air and urban tree cover. The forest figures are: they count every forest in the country.
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