Air quality

Air quality in Dera Ismail Khan today

Updated

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 125) 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, 1:00 am (20:00 UTC).

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

US AQI now
125 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
PM2.5
67 µg/m³ 4.5× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
75 µg/m³
Ozone
36 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 125
Best hour today
9:00 am AQI 121
European AQI
69

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Air quality in Dera Ismail Khan right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan is 125, 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 125. 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 67 µg/m³, 4.5 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 75 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 36 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 28 µg/m³ (above the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: carbon monoxide 680 µg/m³.

Dera Ismail Khan AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 121 around Mon 9:00 am to 126 around Mon 8:00 pm, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.

The following day looks similar, averaging about 125.

Local time (Asia/Karachi)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Mon 1:00 am125Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups67.37536
Mon 4:00 am124Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups59.36623
Mon 7:00 am123Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups55.36117
Mon 10:00 am121Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups31.23991
Mon 1:00 pm122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups25.138136
Mon 4:00 pm123Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups26.140121
Mon 7:00 pm125Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups42.35384
Mon 10:00 pm126Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups59.87059
Tue 1:00 am124Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups56.56644
Tue 4:00 am122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups586727
Tue 7:00 am122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups60.16916
Tue 10:00 am123Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups31.84390
Tue 1:00 pm124Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups30.749144
Tue 4:00 pm126Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups30.748132
Tue 7:00 pm127Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups49.76493
Tue 10:00 pm130Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups68.58267
Wed 1:00 am133Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups65.47852

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 Dera Ismail Khan today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 9:00 am (AQI 121, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 8:00 pm (AQI 126). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.

Dera Ismail Khan vs the rest of Pakistan

Across 50 Pakistan cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 121 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Dera Ismail Khan at 125 is about average.

It ranks 24 of 50 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Battagram (57) and the most polluted Chak Jhumra (158).

For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.

Air quality in cities near Dera Ismail Khan

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Bhakkar27 km125Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups67.3
Tank65 km97Moderate26.3
Bannu131 km100Moderate48
Sahiwal136 km103Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups61.7
Jhang Sadr148 km150Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups93.4
Bhawana168 km139Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups90.6
Sargodha170 km144Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups92.2
Multan190 km153Unhealthy60.5

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Dera Ismail Khan, 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 67 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 340 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 34 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 125, 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 Dera Ismail Khan

Air quality elsewhere

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