Are you in search of a city in India with the cleanest air to get a break from air pollution? Smart Air examined air quality data from 2025 for numerous Indian cities, resulting in the list of the ’20 Least Polluted Cities in India’ or ‘Best AQI Cities in India’.
Scroll down below for a full overview of the pollution-free Indian cities. It’s worth noting that the World Health Organization’s recommended annual limit is 5 micrograms.
List of Cities with Best Air Quality in India (2025)
1. Shillong, Meghalaya (8.5 μg/m3)
2. Aizawl, Mizoram (9.3 μg/m3)
3. Koppal, Karnataka (14.4 μg/m3)
4. Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka (17.1 μg/m3)
5. Mysuru, Karnataka (18.1 μg/m3)
6. Chamarajanagar, Karnataka (18.7 μg/m3)
7. Shivamogga, Karnataka (19.2 μg/m3)
8. Bangalore, Karnataka (19.3 μg/m3)
9. Agartala, Tripura (20.3 μg/m3)
10. Bagalkot, Karnataka (20.4 μg/m3)
11. Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh (20.8 μg/m3)
12. Maihar, Madhya Pradesh (21.4 μg/m3)
13. Vijayapura, Karnataka (21.8 μg/m3)
14. Gangtok, Sikkim (21.9 μg/m3)
15. Chikkaballarpur, Karnataka (22.9 μg/m3)
16. Kalaburagi, Karnataka (23.8 μg/m3)
17. Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh (24.3 μg/m3)
18. Ramanagara, Karnataka (24.3 μg/m3)
19. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (24.4 μg/m3)
20. Bhilai, Chhattisgarh (24.7 μg/m3)
Read More: The 25 Most Polluted Cities in the World for 2025?
Results: India’s Least Polluted Cities
The data on India’s lowest PM2.5 cities shows that while some regions experience comparatively cleaner air, overall pollution levels remain above ideal health standards. The cleanest cities, such as Shillong and Aizawl, record PM2.5 levels below 10 µg/m³, but most cities in the list fall within the 18–24 µg/m³ range. Although these figures are low relative to many other Indian cities, they still exceed the World Health Organization’s recommended annual guideline of 5 µg/m³.
The cleanest air appears concentrated in parts of Northeast India and select southern regions, while northern cities remain at the higher end even within this “lowest” category. Overall, the data highlights that clean air in India is relative rather than absolute, truly low pollution levels are rare, and even the country’s best-performing cities have room for significant improvement in meeting global health standards.
How Air Pollution Was Measured to Find the Least Polluted Cities in India
These rankings of the world’s 2025 most polluted cities use data on average PM2.5 pollution levels from the 12 months preceding the publication date. There are various pollutants (both particles and gases) that can be found in the air. One of the most commonly tracked pollutants is very small, fine particles called PM2.5.
These small pollutants are under 2.5 micrograms in width and are considered to be one of the more dangerous pollutants due to their ability to enter deep into the lungs and bloodstream. The above rankings of the least polluted cities in India were ranked based on their 2024 average PM2.5 pollution levels.
Open Data
The raw PM2.5 AQI 2024 India pollution data used for the rankings of India’s most polluted cities are openly available on CPCB.
Watch: Run Down of Top 5 Most Polluted Cities in the World
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Why Wayanad not in the list, actually it should be in second place
Kolkata??? You must be kidding, I spent there 7months and checked air quality every day, it was always around 200, sometimes 400…. I have spent time in other places in India and I am 100% Kolkata is one of most polluted ones, not cleanest
Hmm, a few hard to believe result there. Maybe a better stat would be to take the maximum AQI or PM2.5 level over the year.
Mandideep? Seriously? It’s an industrial area.
Did you take these readings inside a lab? No way Guwahati and Bangalore qualify for least polluted air list of even top 100 cities.