Three Indian cities featured among the 10 major cities with the highest U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI⁺) readings in IQAir’s Oct. 26 snapshot, led by Kolkata at 165.
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, topped the list at 170. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, ranked third at 156, while Lahore, Pakistan, was fourth at 152. Mumbai placed fifth with 139 and Delhi seventh with 129.
IQAir classifies scores from 151 to 200 as “Unhealthy” and readings from 101 to 150 as “Unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Kolkata fell in the first category; Mumbai and Delhi were in the second.
IQAir says its live ranking covers about 120 cities and uses the median AQI from monitoring stations in each city. It refreshes at least once an hour and is separate from the company’s annual historical rankings, which use PM2.5 data.
The order differed from the Oct. 24 snapshot, when Mumbai ranked second, Kolkata third and Delhi fourth. IQAir did not timestamp the Oct. 26 readings, and its live page later showed different scores and positions; the figures describe that snapshot, not current conditions.
