AQI levels ‘moderate’ in Kochi, claims PCB

The manual monitoring carried out by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) found that the average Air Quality Index (AQI) levels in Kochi city had remained in the ‘moderate’ category in December 2025.

The manual monitoring was conducted as the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) managed by the board at Vyttila and Kaloor had turned defunct. Readings recorded using the manual stations over more than a week showed that the AQI was below 200. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The manual monitoring was carried out amid reports suggesting poor air quality levels in the city.

The board officials in Ernakulam attributed the spike in levels to temperature inversion caused by prevailing weather conditions. Heavier winds prevent pollutants from dispersing as a layer of cooler air gets trapped beneath warmer air, a phenomenon seen on such occasions in places like Delhi, they said. However, AQI levels recorded using Google’s mapping tool showed readings above 150 for over 20 days in December. The AQI was 175 on December 30 and 31 and rose to 178 on January 1, 2026, it said.

The board has three CAAQMS, at Eloor, Vyttila, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium metro station, Kaloor, managed by it. The stations at Eloor and Vyttila are non-functional, while the annual maintenance contract (AMC) of the Eloor station expired in February 2025. The station at the stadium metro station, Kaloor, was earlier installed at Seematti, Kacheripady, but was switched off on November 19, 2022, for relocation, according to the authorities.