Air quality

Air quality in Charsadda today

Updated

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 116) People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 7:00 am (02:00 UTC).

Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.

US AQI now
116 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
PM2.5
36 µg/m³ 2.4× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
37 µg/m³
Ozone
3 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 116
Best hour today
5:00 pm AQI 102
European AQI
52

Open on the live map

Air quality in Charsadda right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan is 116, which falls in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" band (up to 150). People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 116. 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 36 µg/m³, 2.4 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 37 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 3 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 24 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: carbon monoxide 1782 µg/m³.

Charsadda AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 102 around Mon 5:00 pm to 116 around Mon 7:00 am, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.

The following day looks similar, averaging about 106.

Local time (Asia/Karachi)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Mon 7:00 am116Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups36.1373
Mon 10:00 am110Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups202386
Mon 1:00 pm106Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups14.518149
Mon 4:00 pm103Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups17.321106
Mon 7:00 pm103Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups65.76921
Mon 10:00 pm105Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups76.1790
Tue 1:00 am108Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups51.3530
Tue 4:00 am109Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups31.3332
Tue 7:00 am109Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups33.8350
Tue 10:00 am109Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups192171
Tue 1:00 pm108Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups13.216135
Tue 4:00 pm108Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups15.71894
Tue 7:00 pm108Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups63.86717
Tue 10:00 pm107Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups68.7710
Wed 1:00 am104Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups39.9411
Wed 4:00 am100Moderate22.12315
Wed 7:00 am98Moderate23.22412

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 Charsadda today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 5:00 pm (AQI 102, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 7:00 am (AQI 116). That is a swing of 14 points, so a run or walk around 5:00 pm is noticeably better.

Charsadda vs the rest of Pakistan

Across 52 Pakistan cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 118 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Charsadda at 116 is about average.

For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.

Air quality in cities near Charsadda

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Peshawar22 km126Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups39.5
Mardan29 km149Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups51.1
Mingora90 km58Moderate11.4
Jalālābād122 km72Moderate22
Islamabad129 km94Moderate26.7
Battagram132 km56Moderate8.7
Rawalpindi135 km94Moderate26.7
Abbottabad135 km84Moderate29.6

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Charsadda, 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.

Wildfire smoke

PM2.5 is forecast to reach 76 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 48 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 84 km away). Smoke is a likely contributor: keep windows closed, run an air purifier or HVAC filter, and check the fire map before heading out.

Advice for sensitive groups

At 116, children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with asthma, COPD or heart disease should limit time outdoors, especially strenuous activity. A well-fitted N95/FFP2 mask cuts particle exposure; it does not filter ozone.

What the US AQI numbers mean

US AQICategoryWhat it means
0-50GoodAir quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity.
51-100ModerateAcceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors.
101-150Unhealthy for Sensitive GroupsPeople with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
151-200UnhealthyEveryone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed.
201-300Very UnhealthyHealth alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors.
301-500HazardousEmergency 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 Charsadda

Air quality elsewhere

Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.