Air quality comparison · India, 618 km apart
Hyderabad vs Mumbai Air quality index (AQI) today
Mumbai has cleaner air than Hyderabad right now: AQI 127 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 156 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Hyderabad averaged AQI 90 against 136, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Hyderabad has more tree cover.
India
AQI 156
Unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 62 µg/m³4.1× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 21:00 local
India
AQI 127
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 46 µg/m³3.1× 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.
Hyderabad156Mumbai127
Head to head
Hyderabad vs Mumbai at a glance
Mumbai is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Hyderabad on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Hyderabad | Mumbai | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 156 | 127 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 62 | 46 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 90 (better) | 136 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 19.1% (better) | 14.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 65.7K | 61.9K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Hyderabad and Mumbai right now?
Mumbai has cleaner air than Hyderabad right now: AQI 127 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 156 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Hyderabad's PM2.5 is about 4.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Mumbai's PM2.5 is about 3.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
HyderabadMumbai
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).
Hyderabad: Ground station · Zoo Park, Hyderabad - TSPCB, 3.9 km away · median of 4 stations. Data: OpenAQ · CPCB, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India (GODL-India).
Mumbai: Ground station · Sion, Mumbai - MPCB, 3.2 km away · median of 11 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, Hyderabad averaged AQI 90 against 136, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- Hyderabad7Mumbai0
- Average AQI
- Hyderabad90Mumbai136
- Worst day, AQI
- Hyderabad125Mumbai143
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Hyderabad | Mumbai |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 41 | 134 |
| Nov 6 | 57 | 135 |
| Nov 7 | 104 | 131 |
| Nov 8 | 125 | 139 |
| Nov 9 | 97 | 139 |
| Nov 10 | 94 | 143 |
| Nov 11 | 110 | 130 |
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 Hyderabad and Mumbai today?
Hyderabad (AQI 156, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Mumbai (AQI 127, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Hyderabad
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
- Mumbai
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Hyderabad
- Keep them closed.
- Mumbai
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Hyderabad
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
- Mumbai
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Hyderabad
- Run one.
- Mumbai
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Hyderabad and Mumbai compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Hyderabad's air is cleaner than 9% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Mumbai's is cleaner than 14%. Within India, that is 42% and 57% of its 471 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Hyderabad
- Beats 9%
- Mumbai
- Beats 14%
More tree cover than…
- Hyderabad
- Beats 44%
- Mumbai
- Beats 34%
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.
Hyderabad
2017: satellite photo from April 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Mumbai
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Hyderabad or Mumbai?
Hyderabad has more tree cover: 19.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.9% around Mumbai, or about 60,004 trees against 45,874.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Hyderabad | Mumbai | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 60.0K (better) | 45.9K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 65.7K | 61.9K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.3M kg (better) | 1.0M kg |
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
Hyderabad vs Mumbai: your questions answered
Is Mumbai cleaner than Hyderabad?
On air quality, yes, right now: Mumbai reads AQI 127 against 156, a gap of 29 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, Hyderabad averaged AQI 90 against 136, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Hyderabad and Mumbai today?
In Hyderabad, at AQI 156: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. In Mumbai, at AQI 127: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has more trees, Hyderabad or Mumbai?
Hyderabad has more tree cover: 19.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.9% around Mumbai, or about 60,004 trees against 45,874. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Hyderabad and Mumbai need?
Hyderabad needs about 65,659 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Mumbai about 61,883 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Hyderabad and Mumbai 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 Hyderabad vs Mumbai 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 14, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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