Air quality
Air quality in Bilbao today
Updated
Good (US AQI 30) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 7:00 pm (18:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 30 Good
- PM2.5
- 7.2 µg/m³ 0.5× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 8.9 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 42 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 30
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 29
- European AQI
- 30
Air quality in Bilbao right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain is 30, which falls in the "Good" band (up to 50). Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 30. 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 7.2 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 8.9 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 42 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 18 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 146 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 19 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 146 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Bilbao AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 29 around Sun 10:00 pm to 31 around Mon 11:00 am, staying "Good" throughout.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 30.
| Local time (Europe/Madrid) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 7:00 pm | 30 | Good | 7.2 | 9 | 42 |
| Sun 10:00 pm | 29 | Good | 8.1 | 12 | 30 |
| Mon 1:00 am | 29 | Good | 5.7 | 9 | 32 |
| Mon 4:00 am | 29 | Good | 4.2 | 5 | 28 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 29 | Good | 4.7 | 7 | 25 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 30 | Good | 6.7 | 8 | 21 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 31 | Good | 3.8 | 7 | 48 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 31 | Good | 4.1 | 7 | 66 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 31 | Good | 8.3 | 11 | 45 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 31 | Good | 5.9 | 9 | 43 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 30 | Good | 4.7 | 7 | 48 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 29 | Good | 4.4 | 7 | 42 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 29 | Good | 5.4 | 8 | 30 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 30 | Good | 6.8 | 10 | 23 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 30 | Good | 5.9 | 8 | 55 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 31 | Good | 4.9 | 8 | 68 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 32 | Good | 7.4 | 14 | 53 |
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 Bilbao tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 29, Good) and the worst around 11:00 am (AQI 31). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Bilbao vs the rest of Spain
Across 33 Spain cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 36 (Good). Bilbao at 30 is 6 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 3 of 33 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Vigo (27) and the most polluted Telde (52).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Bilbao
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barakaldo | 6 km | 30 | Good | 7.2 |
| Gijón | 223 km | 28 | Good | 4.1 |
| Valladolid | 232 km | 30 | Good | 3 |
| Zaragoza | 245 km | 32 | Good | 4.3 |
| Bordeaux | 257 km | 29 | Good | 6.8 |
| Zamora | 303 km | 31 | Good | 2.6 |
| Alcobendas | 308 km | 37 | Good | 7.7 |
| Chamartín | 318 km | 37 | Good | 7.7 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Bilbao, 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
With the AQI at 30, there is no need for sensitive groups to change plans. People with asthma should still carry their reliever inhaler as usual.
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 Bilbao
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.