Rajkot Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

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

Rajkot AQI Right Now

129

Category: Moderate

Dominant Pollutant: pm10

PM2.5: 56.02 µg/m³

PM10: 143.1 µg/m³

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

Rajkot Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.556.02 µg/m³
PM10143.1 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)1.85 µg/m³
NO₂14.08 µg/m³
SO₂2.32 µg/m³
CO126.39 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Rajkot

Moderate: Breathing discomfort to people with lungs, asthma and heart diseases.

Health Impact — Rajkot

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 2.5 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.3 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Rajkot

  • General Population: People with respiratory or heart conditions should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
  • Elderly: Reduce prolonged outdoor activities.
  • Children: Reduce prolonged outdoor play.
  • Lung Disease Patients: Avoid prolonged outdoor exertion.

Understanding Rajkot Air Quality

Rajkot, the main commercial centre of Gujarat's Saurashtra peninsula, is one of India's premier engineering and auto-parts manufacturing hubs. The city's industrial profile - dominated by thousands of small and medium casting foundries, forging units, diesel engine makers, and machine tool manufacturers primarily in the Aji and Metoda GIDC estates - creates a distinctive metallic particulate emission signature.

Winter months (November–February) see AQI deterioration as the semi-arid Saurashtra interior experiences calm conditions and cool nights that limit vertical mixing. PM2.5 levels reach 100–140 µg/m³, with foundry emissions (metal fumes, casting sand dust) adding to vehicular exhaust and road dust. The city's rapid growth - it is among India's fastest-growing metros - means continuous construction activity and expanding vehicular fleet.

Rajkot's relatively inland position on the Saurashtra plateau means it misses the direct sea-breeze moderation that benefits coastal Gujarat cities. Annual rainfall is low (~600 mm, concentrated in July–August), limiting wet deposition of pollutants. Summer months (March–May) bring dust from the semi-arid Saurashtra hinterland and occasionally from the Rann of Kutch to the northwest. The brief monsoon window provides the year's best air quality. Despite these challenges, Rajkot's pollution levels remain moderate compared to Indo-Gangetic Plain cities.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Vehicle exhaust
  • Industrial emissions (engineering, auto parts, casting)
  • Construction dust
  • Road dust
  • Domestic and commercial cooking emissions
  • Waste burning

Geography: Saurashtra peninsula interior; semi-arid climate, flat terrain, engineering and auto-parts manufacturing hub

Peak pollution months: November, December, January, February

Frequently Asked Questions — Rajkot

What makes Rajkot's industrial pollution unique?

Rajkot hosts one of India's densest clusters of engineering foundries, casting units, and auto-parts manufacturers. These emit metallic particulates, casting sand dust, and combustion by-products that give the city's PM a distinctive composition rich in iron, silicon, and other metals, different from the primarily organic carbon PM in agricultural-burning cities.

How does Rajkot compare to Ahmedabad for air quality?

Rajkot generally has better annual average AQI than Ahmedabad due to lower population density, less traffic congestion, and no nearby thermal power plants. However, Rajkot's foundry-heavy industrial mix creates more localised heavy metal pollution near industrial estates.

Air Quality in Nearby Cities