Air quality
Air quality in Aktau today
Updated
Hazardous (US AQI 379) Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 7:00 am (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Aktau, Mangystau, Kazakhstan, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 379 Hazardous
- PM2.5
- 95 µg/m³ 6.3× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 400 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 50 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM10 sub-index 379
- Best hour today
- 9:00 pm AQI 321
- European AQI
- 135
Air quality in Aktau right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Aktau, Mangystau, Kazakhstan is 379, which falls in the "Hazardous" band (301 and above). Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible.
The index is driven mainly by PM10, whose own sub-index is 379. Fine and coarse particles come from traffic, heating, industry, dust and smoke; they build up on calm nights and clear when wind or rain arrives.
PM2.5 is 95 µg/m³, 6.3 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 400 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 50 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 1.3 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: desert dust at 531 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 122 µg/m³.
Aktau AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 262 around Tue 7:00 am to 379 around Mon 7:00 am, from "Very Unhealthy" at best to "Hazardous" at worst.
The following day is expected to be cleaner, averaging about 213 against 326 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Asia/Aqtau) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 7:00 am | 379 | Hazardous | 94.8 | 400 | 50 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 367 | Hazardous | 92.2 | 374 | 50 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 355 | Hazardous | 79.4 | 328 | 54 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 345 | Hazardous | 69.2 | 331 | 58 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 333 | Hazardous | 69.4 | 354 | 58 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 312 | Hazardous | 89.4 | 446 | 57 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 284 | Very Unhealthy | 107.3 | 542 | 58 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 270 | Very Unhealthy | 94.3 | 438 | 59 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 262 | Very Unhealthy | 78.2 | 338 | 56 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 250 | Very Unhealthy | 69.2 | 291 | 55 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 234 | Very Unhealthy | 51 | 239 | 65 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 219 | Very Unhealthy | 43.7 | 252 | 77 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 206 | Very Unhealthy | 45.5 | 275 | 74 |
| Tue 10:00 pm | 196 | Unhealthy | 56 | 317 | 65 |
| Wed 1:00 am | 187 | Unhealthy | 68 | 404 | 60 |
| Wed 4:00 am | 180 | Unhealthy | 69.4 | 386 | 58 |
| Wed 7:00 am | 177 | Unhealthy | 52.4 | 252 | 56 |
Every third hour of the CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo. US AQI uses rolling averages (24 h for particles, 8 h for ozone), so it moves more slowly than the hourly concentrations.
Best time to be outside in Aktau today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 9:00 pm (AQI 321, Hazardous) and the worst around 7:00 am (AQI 379). That is a swing of 58 points, so a run or walk around 9:00 pm is noticeably better.
Aktau vs the rest of Kazakhstan
Across 12 Kazakhstan cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 42 (Good). Aktau at 379 is 337 points worse than average.
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Aktau
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makhachkala | 307 km | 86 | Moderate | 21.9 |
| Sumgayit | 363 km | 76 | Moderate | 23.7 |
| Khirdalan | 376 km | 76 | Moderate | 23.7 |
| Baku | 380 km | 69 | Moderate | 26 |
| Atyrau | 387 km | 25 | Good | 1.9 |
| Astrakhan | 387 km | 35 | Good | 9.4 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Aktau, so the numbers on this page are model estimates. Models capture regional pollution well but can miss very local sources such as a busy road or a nearby fire.
Wildfire smoke
PM2.5 is forecast to reach 107 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 7 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 225 km away). Smoke is a likely contributor: keep windows closed, run an air purifier or HVAC filter, and check the fire map before heading out.
Advice for sensitive groups
At 379, children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with asthma, COPD or heart disease should limit time outdoors, especially strenuous activity. A well-fitted N95/FFP2 mask cuts particle exposure; it does not filter ozone.
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Values on this page are modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) and served by Open-Meteo; they are estimates for the area around the city centre, not readings from an official monitor.
Nearby cities
More for Aktau
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.