Air quality in Varanasi today
The air in Varanasi (India) now and over the next 48 hours: the US AQI and the European AQI, fine particles (PM2.5, PM10), ozone and nitrogen dioxide, compared with the WHO 2021 guidelines, with what it means for outdoor sport, children, older people and open windows.
These numbers are more than 7 hours old, so they are hidden. Open the live map for the current air. Open the air map centred on Varanasi
AQI right now
Unhealthy. Main pollutant: PM2.5, 4.2× the WHO guideline.
What to do today
- Outdoor sport Move training indoors or keep it short and easy.
- Children, older people, asthma Avoid long or intense activity outdoors; children play inside.
- Windows Keep closed; an air purifier with a HEPA filter helps.
AQI in Varanasi hour by hour, next 48 hours
- Good
- Moderate
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- Unhealthy
- Very unhealthy
- Hazardous
Cleanest hour in the next 24 h: Mon 06:30 (AQI 155). Worst hour: Sun 08:30 (AQI 160).
US AQI per hour, local time. Bars coloured by category.
Compared with the WHO 2021 guidelines
| Pollutant | Next 24 h | WHO guideline | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 64 µg/m³ | 15 µg/m³ | 4.2× |
| PM10 | 84 µg/m³ | 45 µg/m³ | 1.9× |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) | 14 µg/m³ | 25 µg/m³ | within |
| Ozone (O₃) | 164 µg/m³ | 100 µg/m³ | 1.6× |
PM2.5, PM10 and NO₂: 24-hour mean of the forecast against the 24-hour guideline; ozone: highest 8-hour mean against the 8-hour guideline.
Forecast for Sun 08:30 local time · updated 2026-10-25 03:41 UTC
Air quality map around Varanasi
Live PM2.5 field (NOAA GEFS-Aerosols): a different model, so it can disagree with the numbers above by a few units.
More about Varanasi
Bad air alert for Varanasi
Air quality alerts are part of LayEarth Pro: one push the evening before the forecast US AQI in your city goes above your level, so you can move a run, a school trip or an open window in time. 7-day free trial, then 9 USD a month.
Questions
- What is the AQI in Varanasi right now?
- US AQI 160 (Unhealthy), European AQI 62; PM2.5 53 µg/m³ (Sun 08:30).
- Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Varanasi today?
- Move training indoors or keep it short and easy.
- What is the main pollutant in Varanasi?
- PM2.5, 4.2× the WHO guideline.
- Where do the numbers come from?
- The CAMS global air-quality forecast of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, read through Open-Meteo: a model on a ~40 km grid, not a monitoring station. Where a nearby monitor disagrees, the monitor is right.
Nearby cities
How it is computed
Hourly CAMS forecast (Copernicus) for the coordinates of Varanasi via Open-Meteo; US AQI per the US EPA breakpoints, European AQI per the EEA bands, WHO 2021 air-quality guidelines. The page is rebuilt every 3 hours. Live map.