Kolhapur Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today
Maharashtra, India — Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) and PM2.5
Kolhapur AQI Right Now
Category: Satisfactory
Dominant Pollutant: pm25
PM2.5: 55.97 µg/m³
PM10: 90.24 µg/m³
Last updated: 2026-03-24 — Data source: Google Air Quality API (NAQI). Live NAQI values load when you visit the page.
Kolhapur Pollutant Levels
| Pollutant | Concentration |
|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 55.97 µg/m³ |
| PM10 | 90.24 µg/m³ |
| O₃ (Ozone) | 29.71 µg/m³ |
| NO₂ | 21.48 µg/m³ |
| SO₂ | 0.8 µg/m³ |
| CO | 669.5 µg/m³ |
Health Advisory — Kolhapur
Satisfactory: Minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people.
Health Impact — Kolhapur
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 Kolhapur
- 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 Kolhapur Air Quality
Kolhapur, nestled at the eastern edge of the Western Ghats in southern Maharashtra, is a city defined by two distinct industrial identities: precision engineering and jaggery (gur) production. The Shiroli and Gokul Shirgaon industrial areas host hundreds of foundries, casting units, and auto-component workshops that produce metallic particulate matter, SO2, and volatile organic compounds. Metal casting - particularly grey iron and ductile iron - involves furnace operations that generate fine metallic dust and fumes, giving Kolhapur's industrial areas a distinctly different pollution profile from typical Indian cities.
Kolhapur is also India's jaggery capital - the surrounding Kolhapur, Sangli, and Satara districts are among the country's largest sugarcane-growing regions. During the crushing season (November–April), hundreds of jaggery-making units (gul karkhana) operate open furnaces that burn bagasse and firewood to boil sugarcane juice, producing thick smoke laden with particulate matter and organic compounds. This seasonal industry adds significant biomass burning emissions during the very months when cooler temperatures and lower mixing heights already compromise air quality.
The Panchganga River valley in which Kolhapur sits provides some topographic channelling of winds, but the city benefits significantly from its proximity to the Western Ghats, which bring moderate rainfall (~1,100 mm annually) and keep the climate more humid than the Deccan interior. The monsoon season (June–September) delivers reliably clean air, while post-monsoon October is transitional. Winter months (November–February) bring the worst air quality, though Kolhapur's levels are moderate compared to Indo-Gangetic Plain cities.
Primary Pollution Sources
- Vehicle exhaust
- Foundry and engineering emissions
- Sugar mill emissions
- Road dust
- Construction dust
- Jaggery (gur) making furnace emissions
Geography: Southern Maharashtra at Western Ghats edge; engineering and jaggery manufacturing hub, Panchganga River valley, moderate rainfall
Peak pollution months: November, December, January, February
Frequently Asked Questions — Kolhapur
How do foundries and jaggery making affect Kolhapur's air quality?
Kolhapur's foundry industry (Shiroli, Gokul Shirgaon) emits metallic particulate matter and SO2 from iron-melting furnaces year-round. During the November–April sugarcane crushing season, hundreds of jaggery-making units add bagasse and firewood smoke. The combination of industrial metallic PM and seasonal biomass burning creates winter AQI readings in the Moderate to Poor range (NAQI 100–200), particularly in areas downwind from industrial and jaggery zones.
When is the best time to visit Kolhapur for clean air?
July through September, during the monsoon, offers the cleanest air with heavy Western Ghats rainfall suppressing all dust and industrial particulates. AQI is typically in the Good range. Early October post-monsoon is also clean. Avoid December through February when jaggery season emissions combine with foundry output and cooler temperatures.
Air Quality in Nearby Cities
- Ichalkaranji AQI — Maharashtra
- Sangli AQI — Maharashtra
- Belagavi AQI — Karnataka
- Satara AQI — Maharashtra
- Panaji AQI — Goa
- Vasco da Gama AQI — Goa