Air quality in January: cleanest & most polluted destinations

Where the air is cleanest — and worst — to travel in January, ranked by the monthly-mean US Air Quality Index (AQI) across 600+ destinations. Lower is better: 0–50 is good, 100+ starts to bite, 150+ is unhealthy. Tap any place for its full January weather and air-quality breakdown.

Worst air quality in January

  1. 1Lahore, PakistanVery unhealthy201AQI
  2. 2Amritsar, IndiaUnhealthy190AQI
  3. 3Delhi, IndiaUnhealthy186AQI
  4. 4Agra, IndiaUnhealthy186AQI
  5. 5Kolkata, IndiaUnhealthy184AQI
  6. 6Varanasi, IndiaUnhealthy176AQI
  7. 7Dhaka, BangladeshUnhealthy170AQI
  8. 8Beijing, ChinaUnhealthy169AQI
  9. 9Mumbai, IndiaUnhealthy159AQI
  10. 10Chengdu, ChinaUnhealthy157AQI
  11. 11Ürümqi, ChinaUnhealthy156AQI
  12. 12Xi'an, ChinaUnhealthy154AQI
  13. 13Chongqing, ChinaUnhealthy154AQI
  14. 14Bangkok, ThailandUnhealthy154AQI
  15. 15Jaipur, IndiaUnhealthy152AQI

Cleanest air in January

  1. 1Farellones, ChileGood11AQI
  2. 2Honiara, Solomon IslandsGood11AQI
  3. 3Puerto Natales, ChileGood11AQI
  4. 4El Calafate, ArgentinaGood12AQI
  5. 5Ushuaia, ArgentinaGood12AQI
  6. 6Nadi, FijiGood13AQI
  7. 7Queenstown, New ZealandGood15AQI
  8. 8Wānaka, New ZealandGood15AQI
  9. 9Cairns, AustraliaGood17AQI
  10. 10San Carlos de Bariloche, ArgentinaGood17AQI
  11. 11Suva, FijiGood17AQI
  12. 12Hobart, AustraliaGood18AQI
  13. 13Cochabamba, BoliviaGood20AQI
  14. 14Falls Creek, AustraliaGood20AQI
  15. 15Mount Buller, AustraliaGood20AQI