Breathing in Maharashtra is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 128.2 million people across 36 districts in Maharashtra. The average PM2.5 level is 33.9 µg/m³—6.8× higher than the WHO guideline.

Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Air Pollution in Maharashtra

Maharashtra faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 128.2 million across 36 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 33.9µg/m³. That's 6.8 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 562 cigarettes in a year.

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Life Expectancy Impact

If Maharashtra met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 2.84 years longer.

That's 364.0M years of life stolen from 128.2 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Maharashtra. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Bhandara
    3.7 years lost
  • 2.Gondiya
    3.7 years lost
  • 3.Nagpur
    3.7 years lost
  • 4.Wardha
    3.4 years lost
  • 5.Jalgaon
    3.4 years lost
  • 6.Akola
    3.3 years lost
  • 7.Pune
    3.2 years lost
  • 8.Amravati
    3.2 years lost
  • 9.Mumbai City
    3.2 years lost
  • 10.Buldhana
    3.1 years lost

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
0%
0
5-10 µg/m³
0%
0
10-15 µg/m³
0%
0
15-25 µg/m³
1.4%
1.8M
25-35 µg/m³
51.7%
66.2M
> 35 µg/m³
46.9%
60.1M

All 36 Districts in Maharashtra

Complete air quality data for every district in Maharashtra, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Pune10.8M
37.9
3.2 years
Mumbai Suburban10.8M
36.3
3.1 years
Thane9.8M
31.8
2.6 years
Nashik7.0M
30.6
2.5 years
Nagpur5.3M
42.3
3.7 years
Ahmednagar5.0M
33.6
2.8 years
Solapur4.9M
29.1
2.4 years
Jalgaon4.8M
39.2
3.4 years
Kolhapur4.5M
27.7
2.2 years
Aurangabad4.2M
35.2
3.0 years
Nanded3.8M
30.7
2.5 years
Satara3.4M
29.3
2.4 years
Mumbai City3.4M
37.2
3.2 years
Amravati3.3M
37.8
3.2 years
Sangli3.2M
27.8
2.2 years
Yavatmal3.2M
35.8
3.0 years
Raigad3.0M
31.6
2.6 years
Beed3.0M
30.5
2.5 years
Latur3.0M
28.1
2.3 years
Buldhana2.9M
36.9
3.1 years
Palghar2.7M
29.2
2.4 years
Chandrapur2.5M
36.9
3.1 years
Dhule2.3M
35.7
3.0 years
Jalna2.2M
34.2
2.9 years
Akola2.1M
38.7
3.3 years
Parbhani2.1M
30.8
2.5 years
Osmanabad1.9M
28.2
2.3 years
Nandurbar1.9M
33.5
2.8 years
Ratnagiri1.8M
24.3
1.9 years
Bhandara1.6M
42.9
3.7 years
Wardha1.5M
39.9
3.4 years
Washim1.4M
34.9
2.9 years
Hingoli1.3M
31.9
2.6 years
Gondiya1.3M
42.7
3.7 years
Gadchiroli1.2M
33.3
2.8 years
Sindhudurg965K
25.6
2.0 years

Showing 36 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.