Cuttack Air Quality Index (AQI) & Air Pollution Today

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

Cuttack AQI Right Now

75

Category: Satisfactory

Dominant Pollutant: pm10

PM2.5: 35.94 µg/m³

PM10: 74.39 µg/m³

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

Cuttack Pollutant Levels

PollutantConcentration
PM2.535.94 µg/m³
PM1074.39 µg/m³
O₃ (Ozone)20.13 µg/m³
NO₂9.98 µg/m³
SO₂1.71 µg/m³
CO855.37 µg/m³

Health Advisory — Cuttack

Satisfactory: Minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people.

Health Impact — Cuttack

Cigarette Equivalent: Breathing this air is equivalent to smoking 1.6 cigarettes per day (based on current PM2.5 levels).

Life Expectancy Impact: Sustained exposure at this PM2.5 level could reduce life expectancy by 0.17 years (AQLI estimate, relative to WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³).

Health Recommendations for Cuttack

  • 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 Cuttack Air Quality

Cuttack, known as Odisha's Silver City (Rupa Nagari), has been the state's cultural and commercial heart for over a millennium. The city is famed for its exquisite Tarakasi silver filigree jewellery - a craft practised in hundreds of small workshops in the Nayasarak and Balu Bazaar areas. These workshops use coal and charcoal-fired furnaces to melt and shape silver and brass, releasing fine metallic fumes, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter into the narrow lanes of the old city. Combined with vehicle exhaust from the congested Badambadi and Cuttack Chandi Road corridors, the old-city area experiences persistently elevated air quality readings.

Situated at the apex of the Mahanadi River delta and sharing an air basin with its twin city Bhubaneswar (just 25 km south), Cuttack's flat alluvial terrain offers minimal topographic dispersion. During winter months (December–March), calm conditions and lower mixing heights cause pollutants from vehicles, construction, and waste burning to accumulate. Rice straw burning in the surrounding Mahanadi delta agricultural belt adds seasonal smoke that drifts into the city, particularly in December and January after the kharif harvest.

The monsoon season (June–September) dramatically cleanses the air, as Cuttack receives abundant rainfall (~1,500 mm annually). Post-monsoon October–November is transitional with improving breezes, while March marks the end of the peak pollution season as rising temperatures increase vertical mixing.

Primary Pollution Sources

  • Vehicle exhaust
  • Road dust
  • Silver filigree/handicraft workshop emissions
  • Construction dust
  • Waste burning
  • Agricultural burning

Geography: Mahanadi River delta; Odisha's former capital, twin city of Bhubaneswar, flat alluvial terrain, silver filigree craft centre

Peak pollution months: December, January, February, March

Frequently Asked Questions — Cuttack

How does the silver filigree industry affect Cuttack air quality?

Cuttack's centuries-old Tarakasi (silver filigree) craft involves melting silver and brass in small coal and charcoal-fired furnaces across hundreds of workshops in the old city. These emit fine metallic particulates, carbon monoxide, and volatile compounds into narrow, poorly ventilated lanes. While the citywide impact is modest, hyper-local exposure in Nayasarak and Balu Bazaar can be significant for artisans and resident families.

When is the best time to visit Cuttack for clean air?

July through September offers the cleanest air as heavy monsoon rains flush out urban and agricultural pollutants. October is also relatively clean post-monsoon. Avoid December through February when winter calm and agricultural burning create the worst air quality of the year.

Air Quality in Nearby Cities