Air quality
Air quality in Bukavu today
Updated
Moderate (US AQI 56) Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 4:00 am (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 56 Moderate
- PM2.5
- 14 µg/m³ 0.9× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 16 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 65 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 56
- Best hour today
- 12:00 pm AQI 55
- European AQI
- 38
Air quality in Bukavu right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo is 56, 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 56. 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 14 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 16 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 65 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 2.5 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 271 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 9 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 31 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Bukavu AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 55 around Mon 12:00 pm to 60 around Tue 3:00 am, staying "Moderate" throughout.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 61 against 56 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Africa/Lubumbashi) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 4:00 am | 56 | Moderate | 13.9 | 16 | 65 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 56 | Moderate | 14.4 | 16 | 67 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 56 | Moderate | 8.2 | 9 | 88 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 55 | Moderate | 9.8 | 11 | 97 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 55 | Moderate | 10.2 | 11 | 90 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 55 | Moderate | 14 | 15 | 82 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 56 | Moderate | 20.4 | 22 | 68 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 58 | Moderate | 21.2 | 23 | 54 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 60 | Moderate | 22.2 | 24 | 43 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 62 | Moderate | 20.7 | 22 | 69 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 63 | Moderate | 9.6 | 11 | 86 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 63 | Moderate | 7.6 | 8 | 87 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 63 | Moderate | 7.6 | 8 | 79 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 62 | Moderate | 10.5 | 11 | 60 |
| Tue 10:00 pm | 61 | Moderate | 11.4 | 12 | 45 |
| Wed 1:00 am | 58 | Moderate | 8.7 | 9 | 40 |
| Wed 4:00 am | 55 | Moderate | 9.2 | 10 | 39 |
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 Bukavu today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 12:00 pm (AQI 55, Moderate) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 56). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Bukavu vs the rest of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Across 18 Democratic Republic of the Congo cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 66 (Moderate). Bukavu at 56 is 10 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 4 of 18 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Mbandaka (36) and the most polluted Masina (83).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Bukavu
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uvira | 106 km | 60 | Moderate | 12.1 |
| Bujumbura | 115 km | 60 | Moderate | 12.1 |
| Kigali | 148 km | 64 | Moderate | 14.9 |
| Butembo | 297 km | 53 | Moderate | 10.9 |
| Geita | 379 km | 23 | Good | 5.4 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Bukavu, 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 56, 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 Bukavu
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.