Guwahati Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

Assam, India — Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) and PM2.5

Guwahati AQI Right Now

58

Category: Satisfactory

Dominant Pollutant: pm10

PM2.5: 31.37 µg/m³

PM10: 56.67 µg/m³

Last updated: 2026-03-24 — Data source: Google Air Quality API (NAQI). Live NAQI values load when you visit the page.

Guwahati Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.531.37 µg/m³
PM1056.67 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)7.32 µg/m³
NO₂9.28 µg/m³
SO₂3.28 µg/m³
CO323.18 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Guwahati

Satisfactory: Minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people.

Health Impact — Guwahati

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 1.4 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.14 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Guwahati

  • General Population: Acceptable air quality. Unusually sensitive people should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
  • Elderly: Minor breathing discomfort is possible.
  • Children: Should be fine outdoors with normal activities.
  • Lung Disease Patients: Consider reducing prolonged outdoor exertion.

Understanding Guwahati Air Quality

Guwahati, the largest city in Northeast India and the gateway to the seven sister states, faces a growing air quality crisis that surprises many who associate the region with pristine forests and clean mountain air. The city occupies a narrow stretch of the Brahmaputra River valley, hemmed in by the Meghalaya plateau hills to the south (Khasi Hills), the Shillong plateau to the east, and lower hills to the north and west - creating a natural bowl that severely restricts horizontal wind flow and pollutant dispersion.

Winter months (November–February) bring the worst air quality as temperature inversions develop over the Brahmaputra valley, trapping emissions from Guwahati's rapidly growing vehicle fleet, construction sites, and domestic biomass burning within the valley bowl. PM2.5 concentrations regularly exceed 120 µg/m³ during December and January, reaching Very Poor NAQI levels on calm, foggy mornings. The Indian Oil Corporation refinery at Noonmati, one of India's oldest refineries operating since 1962, contributes industrial emissions including SO2, NOx, and hydrocarbon vapours. Brick kilns along the Amingaon and North Guwahati periphery add seasonal particulates.

Guwahati's high humidity (often above 80% even in winter) amplifies the perceived haze effect, as water vapour condenses on fine particulate surfaces to create a thick, visibility-reducing fog-smog hybrid. The Brahmaputra itself generates moisture that feeds this phenomenon. Rapid urbanisation - the city's population has nearly doubled in two decades - has outpaced infrastructure, leading to traffic congestion on arterial roads like GS Road, Zoo Road, and the Guwahati-Shillong highway. Open waste burning in hillside settlements (Guwahati's hills are densely settled informally) adds to the emission inventory. The monsoon (June–September) brings dramatic improvement with heavy rainfall and strong valley winds clearing the atmosphere to Good AQI levels.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Vehicle exhaust
  • Construction dust
  • Road dust
  • Brick kilns
  • Waste burning
  • Domestic biomass burning

Geography: Brahmaputra River valley flanked by hills on three sides; gateway to Northeast India, subtropical climate with high humidity, rapid and largely unplanned urbanisation

Peak pollution months: November, December, January, February

Frequently Asked Questions — Guwahati

Why does Guwahati get so polluted despite being in the green Northeast?

Guwahati's pollution problem stems from its valley geography, not its regional setting. The city sits in a bowl-shaped section of the Brahmaputra valley surrounded by hills that trap pollutants. Rapid population growth (near doubling in 20 years), increasing vehicle numbers, construction activity, the Noonmati oil refinery, and widespread biomass burning generate emissions that accumulate in this natural basin during winter inversions. The green forests on surrounding hills cannot compensate for valley-floor emissions in a trapped airshed.

How does the Brahmaputra valley create a trapping effect for pollution?

The Brahmaputra valley at Guwahati is flanked by the Meghalaya plateau (Khasi Hills) to the south, rising 500–1,500 metres above the valley floor, and lower hills to the north. This terrain creates a bowl that restricts horizontal wind dispersion. During winter, temperature inversions add a vertical "lid" of warm air above the cool valley floor, trapping emissions in a shallow layer. The combination of topographic and thermal trapping makes Guwahati one of Northeast India's most pollution-prone locations despite the region's overall green character.

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