Air quality
Air quality in Comox today
Updated
Good (US AQI 35) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Thu, Oct 29, 8:00 pm (03:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Comox, British Columbia, Canada, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 35 Good
- PM2.5
- 11 µg/m³ 0.7× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 11 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 67 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 35
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 45
- European AQI
- 31
Air quality in Comox right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Comox, British Columbia, Canada is 35, 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 35. 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 11 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 11 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 67 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 6.4 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 199 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 8 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 112 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Comox AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 35 around Thu 8:00 pm to 58 around Fri 8:00 pm, from "Good" at best to "Moderate" at worst.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 64 against 47 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (America/Vancouver) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 8:00 pm | 35 | Good | 10.6 | 11 | 67 |
| Thu 11:00 pm | 37 | Good | 6.5 | 7 | 70 |
| Fri 2:00 am | 39 | Good | 8 | 9 | 68 |
| Fri 5:00 am | 43 | Good | 10.6 | 11 | 68 |
| Fri 8:00 am | 49 | Good | 12.5 | 13 | 69 |
| Fri 11:00 am | 52 | Moderate | 13.9 | 15 | 68 |
| Fri 2:00 pm | 54 | Moderate | 17 | 18 | 75 |
| Fri 5:00 pm | 55 | Moderate | 27.1 | 28 | 73 |
| Fri 8:00 pm | 58 | Moderate | 20.8 | 22 | 67 |
| Fri 11:00 pm | 61 | Moderate | 16.8 | 18 | 64 |
| Sat 2:00 am | 63 | Moderate | 18.3 | 19 | 67 |
| Sat 5:00 am | 65 | Moderate | 17.2 | 19 | 66 |
| Sat 8:00 am | 66 | Moderate | 16.6 | 18 | 67 |
| Sat 11:00 am | 67 | Moderate | 14.3 | 16 | 69 |
| Sat 2:00 pm | 67 | Moderate | 11.2 | 12 | 81 |
| Sat 5:00 pm | 65 | Moderate | 14 | 15 | 83 |
| Sat 8:00 pm | 65 | Moderate | 42.1 | 44 | 67 |
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 Comox tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 45, Good) and the worst around 9:00 pm (AQI 59). That is a swing of 14 points, so a run or walk around 6:00 am is noticeably better.
Comox vs the rest of Canada
Across 11 Canada cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 50 (Good). Comox at 35 is 15 points cleaner than average.
For context, the median across 455 cities worldwide is 60.
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Comox, 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 35, 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 Comox
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.