Air quality
Air quality in Benin City today
Updated
Moderate (US AQI 68) Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 9:00 pm (20:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 68 Moderate
- PM2.5
- 28 µg/m³ 1.8× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 33 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 39 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 68
- Best hour tomorrow
- 8:00 pm AQI 66
- European AQI
- 47
Air quality in Benin City right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria is 68, which falls in the "Moderate" band (up to 100). Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 68. 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 28 µg/m³, 1.8 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 33 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 39 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 16 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 657 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 150 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 10 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Benin City AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 66 around Mon 8:00 pm to 71 around Mon 12:00 am, staying "Moderate" throughout.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 66.
| Local time (Africa/Lagos) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 9:00 pm | 68 | Moderate | 27.6 | 33 | 39 |
| Mon 12:00 am | 71 | Moderate | 19.7 | 23 | 30 |
| Mon 3:00 am | 71 | Moderate | 16.4 | 21 | 28 |
| Mon 6:00 am | 70 | Moderate | 16.9 | 23 | 24 |
| Mon 9:00 am | 70 | Moderate | 16.9 | 22 | 67 |
| Mon 12:00 pm | 70 | Moderate | 12.7 | 18 | 102 |
| Mon 3:00 pm | 69 | Moderate | 16.8 | 26 | 94 |
| Mon 6:00 pm | 67 | Moderate | 15 | 18 | 51 |
| Mon 9:00 pm | 66 | Moderate | 20.9 | 23 | 24 |
| Tue 12:00 am | 65 | Moderate | 25.4 | 28 | 16 |
| Tue 3:00 am | 67 | Moderate | 19.5 | 22 | 14 |
| Tue 6:00 am | 67 | Moderate | 14.2 | 17 | 24 |
| Tue 9:00 am | 66 | Moderate | 14.3 | 18 | 65 |
| Tue 12:00 pm | 66 | Moderate | 9.9 | 13 | 92 |
| Tue 3:00 pm | 65 | Moderate | 13.4 | 19 | 82 |
| Tue 6:00 pm | 65 | Moderate | 17 | 20 | 46 |
| Tue 9:00 pm | 65 | Moderate | 23.8 | 27 | 23 |
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 Benin City tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 8:00 pm (AQI 66, Moderate) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 70). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Benin City vs the rest of Nigeria
Across 66 Nigeria cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 103 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Benin City at 68 is 35 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 10 of 66 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Calabar (63) and the most polluted Kano (237).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Benin City
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapele | 50 km | 73 | Moderate | 23.2 |
| Warri | 92 km | 65 | Moderate | 18.6 |
| Akure | 112 km | 91 | Moderate | 21.8 |
| Ondo | 121 km | 90 | Moderate | 24.2 |
| Onitsha | 130 km | 93 | Moderate | 45.3 |
| Ikare | 133 km | 125 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 35.7 |
| Nkpor | 135 km | 93 | Moderate | 45.3 |
| Ikere-Ekiti | 136 km | 124 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 37.6 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Benin City, 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.
Advice for sensitive groups
At 68, most people are fine outdoors. If you are unusually sensitive to PM2.5, keep long or intense workouts to the cleaner hours shown above.
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 Benin City
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.