Kolkata air quality
India · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sun 05:30 local time
Moderate
Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
- Next 24 hours
- 66–88US AQI, highest around Mon 04:00
- Best time outside
- Sun 05:00–8:00US AQI about 67
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 2.0×31 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 1.4 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Moderatelevel 3 of 6
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Pollutants in Kolkata right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 19 µg/m³ | 2.0× | Moderate |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 23 µg/m³ | 0.8× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 8.9 µg/m³ | 0.5× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 55 µg/m³ | 1.3× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 6.2 µg/m³ | 0.3× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 337 µg/m³ | 0.1× | Good |
| Desert dust | 2 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.49 | ||
| UV index | 0.0 |
“Next 24 h vs WHO” compares the forecast with the World Health Organization’s 2021 guideline levels: 24-hour means of 15 µg/m³ for PM2.5, 45 for PM10, 25 for NO2, 40 for SO2 and 4 mg/m³ for CO, and 100 µg/m³ over 8 hours for ozone. Above 1× is above the guideline.
Next 48 hours
Hourly US AQI. Highest 203 around Mon 17:00, lowest 66 around Sun 05:00.
5-day air quality forecast for Kolkata
Daily range of the hourly US AQI, from lowest to highest, on a scale of 0 to 250.
| Day | US AQI | At worst | PM2.5 avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 27 Sept | 62–84 | 25 | ||
| Mon 28 Sept | 80–203 | 66 | ||
| Tue 29 Sept | 158–175 | 74 | ||
| Wed 30 Sept | 160–167 | 68 | ||
| Thu 1 Oct | 148–178 | 52 |
Common questions about the air in Kolkata
Is the air in Kolkata safe today?
For most people, yes. Right now the US AQI in Kolkata is 66, which counts as moderate. Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
When is the best time to be outside in Kolkata?
Sun 05:00–8:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 67. The worst hour is around Mon 04:00, at 88.
What is the main pollutant in Kolkata?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 19 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Kolkata's air compare with the WHO guideline?
2.0 times the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 31 µg/m³, against the World Health Organization's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. O3 is also forecast above its guideline level.
How many cigarettes is a day of Kolkata's air?
About 1.4 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 31 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Kolkata improve this week?
Today looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 84, against 203 on Monday, the worst day in the forecast.
Air quality near Kolkata
- Dhaka 251 km NE
- Patna 469 km NW
- Kathmandu 649 km NW
- Lucknow 887 km NW
- Kanpur 920 km NW
- Yangon 1,036 km SE
About this forecast
Forecast from CAMS global via Open-Meteo: the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) model at about 40 km resolution (10 km inside Europe), refreshed twice a day. Models smooth out street-level peaks, so busy roads and industrial sites can be worse than shown; ground stations, where there are any nearby, show what monitors actually measure. The US AQI follows the US EPA scale and the European AQI the EEA bands. Readings for 22.57°N, 88.36°E, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.