Global Air Quality Map: Live PM2.5, PM10 and PM1 Monitoring Stations

This interactive map shows live air quality readings from thousands of ground-based monitoring stations around the world, sourced from OpenAQ and updated every hour. Each dot represents a real monitoring station. The colour tells you how the current particulate matter concentration maps to the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) — from green for clean air through to dark maroon for hazardous conditions. Switch between PM2.5, PM10, and PM1 using the pollutant selector to explore different particle size fractions.

How to use the map

Pan and zoom to any part of the world to load monitoring stations in that area. Click any station dot to see the current reading in µg/m³, the AQI category, the station name, city and country, the timestamp of the last measurement, and a link to the full OpenAQ station page. Use the Pollutant dropdown to switch between PM2.5, PM10, and PM1 data — each uses its own set of AQI thresholds appropriate for that particle size. The map automatically reloads station data as you move around the globe, so the readings you see always reflect the current area in view.

Understanding AQI categories

The colours on this map follow the US EPA Air Quality Index scale, which translates raw particulate matter concentrations into six health-based categories:

• Good (green) — PM2.5 0–12 µg/m³. Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk.
• Moderate (yellow) — PM2.5 12.1–35.4 µg/m³. Acceptable, but there may be a risk for a small number of people who are unusually sensitive.
• Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (orange) — PM2.5 35.5–55.4 µg/m³. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should reduce prolonged outdoor exertion.
• Unhealthy (red) — PM2.5 55.5–150.4 µg/m³. Everyone may begin to experience health effects; sensitive groups may experience more serious effects.
• Very Unhealthy (purple) — PM2.5 150.5–250.4 µg/m³. Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects.
• Hazardous (dark maroon) — PM2.5 250.5+ µg/m³. Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is likely to be affected.

For PM10 the thresholds are wider (Good: 0–54 µg/m³ up to Hazardous: 425+ µg/m³), reflecting the lower health impact of coarser particles relative to the finest fraction.

PM2.5, PM10, and PM1 explained

PM2.5 (fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less) is the most closely watched air quality indicator because these tiny particles penetrate deep into the lungs and can enter the bloodstream. Sources include vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, wildfires, and secondary formation from gases. PM2.5 is the primary metric used in most national air quality standards worldwide.

PM10 (particles 10 micrometres or less) includes the fine fraction plus coarser particles like dust, pollen, and mould. It is an important indicator near construction sites, unpaved roads, agricultural areas, and desert regions where dust resuspension is significant.

PM1 (particles 1 micrometre or less) is the ultrafine fraction increasingly measured by modern optical sensors. While no official AQI standard exists for PM1, concentrations track closely with PM2.5 and are of growing research interest for their cardiovascular and neurological effects. This map applies the same PM2.5 thresholds to PM1 as an indicative guide.

Global air quality monitoring coverage

The OpenAQ network aggregates data from government monitoring programmes, research institutions, and low-cost sensor networks across more than 100 countries. Coverage is densest in high-income countries with established environmental monitoring agencies, but the network is expanding rapidly in lower-income regions. Below is a guide to what you will find when you zoom into each part of the world.

North America

The United States has one of the most extensive monitoring networks in the world. Stations appear in virtually every major metropolitan area: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, Fort Worth, Columbus, Indianapolis, Charlotte, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Nashville, Oklahoma City, El Paso, Washington DC, Louisville, Las Vegas, Memphis, Portland, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, Tucson, Fresno, Sacramento, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, and Boise. In Canada, stations cover Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hamilton, and Halifax. In Mexico, stations cover Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara.

Europe

In the United Kingdom, DEFRA’s AURN network provides readings across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Cardiff, Belfast, and Newcastle. Germany contributes UBA data from Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Leipzig, and Dresden. France offers ATMO network data from Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Strasbourg, and Lille. Coverage also extends across Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville), Italy (Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin), Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw), Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam), Belgium (Brussels, Antwerp), Sweden (Stockholm, Gothenburg), Norway (Oslo, Bergen), Denmark (Copenhagen), Czech Republic (Prague, Brno), Austria (Vienna, Graz), Switzerland (Zurich, Geneva, Basel), Portugal (Lisbon, Porto), Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki), Romania (Bucharest), Hungary (Budapest), and Finland (Helsinki).

Asia

India has extensive CPCB monitoring across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Agra, Varanasi, Bhopal, and Indore. China‘s MEE network covers Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Tianjin, Chongqing, Xi’an, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Harbin, and Shenyang. South Korea provides AirKorea data from Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju. Japan‘s NIES network feeds readings from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Hiroshima. Other countries with good coverage include Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai), Vietnam (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City), Pakistan (Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad), Bangladesh (Dhaka), Indonesia (Jakarta, Surabaya), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Singapore, Taiwan (Taipei), Philippines (Manila), and Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar).

Middle East and Africa

Middle East stations include Israel (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah), United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi), Kuwait (Kuwait City), Qatar (Doha), and Jordan (Amman). In Africa, South Africa has SAAQIS data from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Pretoria. Other stations appear in Kenya (Nairobi), Ghana (Accra), Nigeria (Lagos, Abuja), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Uganda (Kampala), Senegal (Dakar), Rwanda (Kigali), and Zambia (Lusaka).

Latin America

Brazil stations cover Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, and Manaus. Chile has SINCA data from Santiago, Valparaiso, and Concepcion. Colombia provides SISAIRE readings from Bogota, Medellin, and Cali. Argentina contributes data from Buenos Aires and Cordoba, and coverage extends to Peru (Lima), Ecuador (Quito), and Costa Rica (San Jose).

Oceania

In Australia, NEPM monitoring covers Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, and Hobart — particularly revealing during bushfire season when PM2.5 across the eastern seaboard can spike dramatically. New Zealand stations appear in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Dunedin.

Why air quality data matters

Outdoor air pollution is responsible for approximately 4.2 million premature deaths per year globally, according to the World Health Organization. Particulate matter is the component of air pollution most closely associated with these health impacts. Monitoring networks like the ones aggregated by OpenAQ make it possible to track pollution trends, identify sources, enforce standards, and protect public health. By visualising these feeds on an interactive map, patterns become visible that would be invisible in tables of numbers: the plume of PM2.5 over a coal-burning city, the seasonal surge in Delhi before Diwali, or the dramatic air quality difference between a coastal city and an inland basin.

About the data

Readings on this map come from the OpenAQ platform (openaq.org), a non-profit organisation that aggregates air quality data from government monitoring agencies, research networks, and sensor deployments worldwide. The data is compiled into a standardised format and made freely available via the Bureau of Transportation Statistics ESRI live feed, which is updated hourly. Because stations report at different intervals and some go offline periodically, the Last updated timestamp in each station popup is the most reliable indicator of data freshness. Coverage and data quality vary by country; always consult your national environmental agency for regulatory-grade measurements.