Air quality
Air quality in Catania today
Updated
Good (US AQI 21) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 3:00 am (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Catania, Sicily, Italy, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 21 Good
- PM2.5
- 5.6 µg/m³ 0.4× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 11 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 35 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 21
- Best hour today
- 6:00 am AQI 22
- European AQI
- 35
Air quality in Catania right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Catania, Sicily, Italy is 21, 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 21. 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 5.6 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 11 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 35 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 21 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 156 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 2 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 277 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Catania AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 21 around Mon 3:00 am to 33 around Mon 6:00 pm, staying "Good" throughout.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 30.
| Local time (Europe/Rome) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 3:00 am | 21 | Good | 5.6 | 11 | 35 |
| Mon 6:00 am | 22 | Good | 5.5 | 11 | 30 |
| Mon 9:00 am | 24 | Good | 4.7 | 10 | 50 |
| Mon 12:00 pm | 25 | Good | 3.1 | 7 | 68 |
| Mon 3:00 pm | 26 | Good | 3.8 | 7 | 76 |
| Mon 6:00 pm | 33 | Good | 4 | 8 | 70 |
| Mon 9:00 pm | 33 | Good | 5.1 | 10 | 57 |
| Tue 12:00 am | 29 | Good | 5.4 | 11 | 44 |
| Tue 3:00 am | 26 | Good | 7.9 | 12 | 34 |
| Tue 6:00 am | 28 | Good | 6.8 | 11 | 20 |
| Tue 9:00 am | 28 | Good | 4.5 | 8 | 49 |
| Tue 12:00 pm | 28 | Good | 3.1 | 6 | 74 |
| Tue 3:00 pm | 29 | Good | 3.5 | 7 | 83 |
| Tue 6:00 pm | 35 | Good | 4.7 | 9 | 65 |
| Tue 9:00 pm | 33 | Good | 9.3 | 14 | 44 |
| Wed 12:00 am | 33 | Good | 8 | 12 | 32 |
| Wed 3:00 am | 34 | Good | 7.2 | 10 | 35 |
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 Catania today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 22, Good) and the worst around 6:00 pm (AQI 33). That is a swing of 11 points, so a run or walk around 6:00 am is noticeably better.
Catania vs the rest of Italy
Across 14 Italy cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 45 (Good). Catania at 21 is 24 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 1 of 14 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Catania (21) and the most polluted Turin (70).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Catania
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta, Sicily | 31 km | 33 | Good | 3.5 |
| Palermo | 165 km | 34 | Good | 2.7 |
| Naples | 380 km | 41 | Good | 15.9 |
| Korba, Nabeul Governorate | 387 km | 35 | Good | 4.1 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 0.8 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 4 sensors), centred about 6 km from the city centre. That is 4.8 µg/m³ below the model estimate of 5.6 µg/m³. Low-cost sensors can read high in humid air; reference monitors are more accurate but sparser.
Advice for sensitive groups
With the AQI at 21, 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 Catania
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.