India · Karnataka · 27 cities
Air quality in Karnataka today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Hosapete has the cleanest air of the 27 cities we track in Karnataka (AQI 58, Moderate), and Mandya the worst (AQI 182, Unhealthy). Mangaluru has the most tree cover, at 64.9% — #17 of 470 cities measured in India.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
Average right now
AQI 103
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- cities tracked
- 27
- average tree cover
- 29.1%
- India: 27.3%
- worst air now: Mandya
- 182
- cleanest air now: Hosapete
- 58
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous, and it reads differently from India's AQI (CPCB). Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Karnataka · average AQI 103
Air quality today across Karnataka, city by city
| Bengaluru | 171Unhealthy | 36.7% | 10.4K | #97 of 470 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubballi | 57Moderate | 26.8% | 10.1K | #186 of 470 |
| Mysuru | 174Unhealthy | 37.0% | 9.2K | #96 of 470 |
| Kalaburagi | 91Moderate | 18.4% | 35.9K | #329 of 470 |
| Mangaluru | 92Moderate | 64.9% | — | #17 of 470 |
| Belagavi | 84Moderate | 40.8% | — | #71 of 470 |
| Davangere | 75Moderate | 25.0% | 15.7K | #216 of 470 |
| Ballari | 78Moderate | 24.0% | 18.8K | #237 of 470 |
| Vijayapura | 86Moderate | 18.7% | 35.5K | #322 of 470 |
| Shivamogga | 73Moderate | 26.4% | 11.0K | #192 of 470 |
| Tumkūr | 181Unhealthy | 27.7% | 34.9K | #171 of 470 |
| Rāichūr | 74Moderate | 16.5% | 40.9K | #357 of 470 |
| Bidar | 106Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 18.1% | 53.1K | #337 of 470 |
| Hosapete | 58Moderate | 24.9% | 16.0K | #221 of 470 |
| Gadag-Betageri | 86Moderate | 14.2% | 49.4K | #391 of 470 |
| Udupi | 84Moderate | 64.0% | — | #20 of 470 |
| Bhadrāvati | 73Moderate | 54.0% | — | #34 of 470 |
| Robertsonpet | 186Unhealthy | 33.7% | 19.7K | #113 of 470 |
| Hassan | 75Moderate | 22.4% | 23.4K | #265 of 470 |
| Chitradurga | 60Moderate | 22.1% | 24.8K | #272 of 470 |
| Kolār | 181Unhealthy | 18.2% | 66.1K | #334 of 470 |
| Mandya | 182Unhealthy | 36.4% | 11.3K | #101 of 470 |
| Chikmagalūr | 72Moderate | 26.8% | 9.9K | #185 of 470 |
| Yelahanka | 171Unhealthy | 35.4% | 13.4K | #105 of 470 |
| Gangavati | 61Moderate | 13.7% | 51.2K | #400 of 470 |
| Bagalkot | 79Moderate | 14.9% | 36.6K | #378 of 470 |
| Ranebennur | 71Moderate | 24.5% | 16.9K | #226 of 470 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in India.
Is this the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
India's AQI (CPCB) and the AQI, explainedDeforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Karnataka lost?
Since 2001, Karnataka has lost about 62,100 hectares of forest (about 87,000 football pitches): 2.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 62,100 haabout 87,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 50,800 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1,200 ha | 571 ha | 1,770 ha |
| 2002 | 738 ha | 287 ha | 1,030 ha |
| 2003 | 872 ha | 357 ha | 1,230 ha |
| 2004 | 1,010 ha | 392 ha | 1,400 ha |
| 2005 | 1,450 ha | 822 ha | 2,270 ha |
| 2006 | 787 ha | 365 ha | 1,150 ha |
| 2007 | 3,020 ha | 1,210 ha | 4,230 ha |
| 2008 | 2,030 ha | 475 ha | 2,510 ha |
| 2009 | 1,770 ha | 573 ha | 2,350 ha |
| 2010 | 721 ha | 192 ha | 913 ha |
| 2011 | 1,390 ha | 369 ha | 1,760 ha |
| 2012 | 2,150 ha | 447 ha | 2,600 ha |
| 2013 | 1,630 ha | 517 ha | 2,140 ha |
| 2014 | 1,760 ha | 502 ha | 2,260 ha |
| 2015 | 1,270 ha | 220 ha | 1,490 ha |
| 2016 | 2,800 ha | 554 ha | 3,350 ha |
| 2017 | 2,710 ha | 397 ha | 3,100 ha |
| 2018 | 3,180 ha | 406 ha | 3,580 ha |
| 2019 | 2,090 ha | 349 ha | 2,440 ha |
| 2020 | 2,240 ha | 430 ha | 2,670 ha |
| 2021 | 2,240 ha | 348 ha | 2,580 ha |
| 2022 | 2,750 ha | 290 ha | 3,040 ha |
| 2023 | 4,760 ha | 439 ha | 5,200 ha |
| 2024 | 3,060 ha | 280 ha | 3,340 ha |
| 2025 | 3,210 ha | 465 ha | 3,670 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 3,560 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 3,030 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2023, when about 5,200 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Karnataka?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good78% · 48,600 ha
- Loggingcan grow back14% · 8,640 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.3% · 2,040 ha
Also: shifting farming, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, wildfires, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. How it's measured
Other states in India
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Karnataka
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Air purifiers that keep up with wildfire smoke and winter smog, ranked by verified smoke CADR, with the room each one clears on a smoky day.
- The best air purifiers for bedrooms: quiet picks sized for your room
Quiet HEPA air purifiers for bedrooms, compared on what matters at night: noise on the lowest setting (from 20 dB), verified room size and filter cost.
- The best air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
Your own street