Air quality
Air quality in Cary today
Updated
Good (US AQI 36) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 10:00 pm (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Cary, North Carolina, United States, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 36 Good
- PM2.5
- 9.3 µg/m³ 0.6× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 12 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 57 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 36
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 40
- European AQI
- 29
Air quality in Cary right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Cary, North Carolina, United States is 36, 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 36. 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 9.3 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 12 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 57 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 7.9 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 154 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 23 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.
Cary AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 36 around Sun 10:00 pm to 52 around Mon 10:00 pm, from "Good" at best to "Moderate" at worst.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 68 against 42 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (America/New_York) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 10:00 pm | 36 | Good | 9.3 | 12 | 57 |
| Mon 1:00 am | 36 | Good | 8 | 10 | 56 |
| Mon 4:00 am | 38 | Good | 7.5 | 9 | 58 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 40 | Good | 7.6 | 9 | 53 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 44 | Good | 10 | 12 | 69 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 45 | Good | 7.2 | 9 | 94 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 45 | Good | 7 | 9 | 103 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 46 | Good | 16.7 | 18 | 69 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 52 | Moderate | 32.6 | 35 | 33 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 58 | Moderate | 35 | 38 | 24 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 64 | Moderate | 31.2 | 34 | 27 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 69 | Moderate | 21.8 | 24 | 28 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 72 | Moderate | 18.7 | 20 | 62 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 73 | Moderate | 9.6 | 12 | 104 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 74 | Moderate | 9 | 10 | 116 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 74 | Moderate | 14.4 | 15 | 82 |
| Tue 10:00 pm | 73 | Moderate | 16 | 16 | 71 |
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 Cary tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 40, Good) and the worst around 9:00 pm (AQI 50). That is a swing of 10 points, so a run or walk around 6:00 am is noticeably better.
Cary vs the rest of United States
Across 747 United States cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 52 (Moderate). Cary at 36 is 16 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 99 of 747 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Hilo (22) and the most polluted Springfield, PA (132).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Cary
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh | 13 km | 38 | Good | 9.4 |
| Durham | 25 km | 35 | Good | 8.3 |
| Burlington, NC | 68 km | 33 | Good | 5.9 |
| Wilson | 78 km | 36 | Good | 7.3 |
| Fayetteville | 83 km | 36 | Good | 7.9 |
| Asheboro | 94 km | 46 | Good | 10.3 |
| Greensboro | 96 km | 33 | Good | 5.9 |
| Greenville | 129 km | 40 | Good | 10 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Cary, 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 36, 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 Cary
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.