Air quality
Air quality in Esna today
Updated
Unhealthy (US AQI 153) Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 5:00 am (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Esna, Qena, Egypt, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 153 Unhealthy
- PM2.5
- 116 µg/m³ 7.7× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 446 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 63 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 153
- Best hour today
- 6:00 am AQI 155
- European AQI
- 147
Air quality in Esna right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Esna, Qena, Egypt is 153, which falls in the "Unhealthy" band (up to 200). Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 153. 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 116 µg/m³, 7.7 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 446 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 63 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 5.6 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: desert dust at 649 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 143 µg/m³.
Esna AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 153 around Mon 5:00 am to 307 around Tue 5:00 am, from "Unhealthy" at best to "Hazardous" at worst.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 275 against 192 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Africa/Cairo) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 5:00 am | 153 | Unhealthy | 115.7 | 446 | 63 |
| Mon 8:00 am | 157 | Unhealthy | 121.5 | 423 | 64 |
| Mon 11:00 am | 161 | Unhealthy | 99.4 | 376 | 94 |
| Mon 2:00 pm | 164 | Unhealthy | 65.4 | 206 | 106 |
| Mon 5:00 pm | 169 | Unhealthy | 53.1 | 158 | 102 |
| Mon 8:00 pm | 176 | Unhealthy | 79.2 | 325 | 95 |
| Mon 11:00 pm | 214 | Very Unhealthy | 154.6 | 794 | 93 |
| Tue 2:00 am | 288 | Very Unhealthy | 139.2 | 650 | 80 |
| Tue 5:00 am | 307 | Hazardous | 116.9 | 499 | 67 |
| Tue 8:00 am | 309 | Hazardous | 88.5 | 351 | 66 |
| Tue 11:00 am | 288 | Very Unhealthy | 62.9 | 304 | 97 |
| Tue 2:00 pm | 284 | Very Unhealthy | 51.3 | 231 | 111 |
| Tue 5:00 pm | 290 | Very Unhealthy | 47.5 | 211 | 108 |
| Tue 8:00 pm | 300 | Very Unhealthy | 57 | 291 | 90 |
| Tue 11:00 pm | 264 | Very Unhealthy | 73.3 | 391 | 74 |
| Wed 2:00 am | 198 | Unhealthy | 60.8 | 297 | 60 |
| Wed 5:00 am | 177 | Unhealthy | 48.3 | 197 | 48 |
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 Esna today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 155, Unhealthy) and the worst around 9:00 pm (AQI 181). That is a swing of 26 points, so a run or walk around 6:00 am is noticeably better.
Esna vs the rest of Egypt
Across 33 Egypt cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 96 (Moderate). Esna at 153 is 57 points worse than average.
It ranks 30 of 33 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Rosetta (38) and the most polluted Abnūb (500).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Esna
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luxor | 46 km | 108 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 32 |
| Kom Ombo | 99 km | 99 | Moderate | 44.5 |
| Aswān | 138 km | 92 | Moderate | 32.8 |
| Assiut | 250 km | 500 | Hazardous | 227.7 |
| Hurghada | 252 km | 82 | Moderate | 31.9 |
| Abnūb | 260 km | 500 | Hazardous | 227.7 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Esna, 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 155 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 14 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 42 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 153, 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 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 Esna
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.