Air quality
Air quality in Essen today
Updated
Good (US AQI 31) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 7:00 pm (18:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 31 Good
- PM2.5
- 4.5 µg/m³ 0.3× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 8.8 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 61 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- ozone sub-index 31
- Best hour tomorrow
- 10:00 am AQI 26
- European AQI
- 21
Air quality in Essen right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is 31, 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 ozone, whose own sub-index is 31. Ozone usually peaks in the afternoon on sunny days and falls back after sunset.
PM2.5 is 4.5 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 8.8 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 61 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 11 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 235 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 15 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 21 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Essen AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 26 around Mon 10:00 am to 31 around Sun 7:00 pm, staying "Good" throughout.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 28.
| Local time (Europe/Berlin) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 7:00 pm | 31 | Good | 4.5 | 9 | 61 |
| Sun 10:00 pm | 29 | Good | 4.8 | 8 | 60 |
| Mon 1:00 am | 28 | Good | 4.9 | 10 | 61 |
| Mon 4:00 am | 28 | Good | 5.6 | 12 | 60 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 28 | Good | 6.6 | 13 | 53 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 26 | Good | 6.5 | 14 | 52 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 28 | Good | 5.1 | 16 | 57 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 30 | Good | 5.7 | 13 | 63 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 31 | Good | 4.5 | 12 | 53 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 31 | Good | 4.2 | 8 | 56 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 30 | Good | 4.2 | 7 | 52 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 30 | Good | 4 | 9 | 44 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 28 | Good | 4.9 | 9 | 40 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 27 | Good | 4.9 | 8 | 44 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 26 | Good | 3.7 | 7 | 52 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 25 | Good | 3.9 | 7 | 57 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 24 | Good | 5.3 | 8 | 50 |
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 Essen tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 10:00 am (AQI 26, Good) and the worst around 6:00 pm (AQI 31). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Essen vs the rest of Germany
Across 41 Germany cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 31 (Good). Essen at 31 is about average.
It ranks 15 of 41 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Munich (28) and the most polluted Bremerhaven (33).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Essen
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gelsenkirchen | 8 km | 31 | Good | 4.5 |
| Bottrop | 9 km | 31 | Good | 4.5 |
| Mülheim | 10 km | 31 | Good | 4.5 |
| Oberhausen | 11 km | 31 | Good | 4.4 |
| Bochum | 14 km | 31 | Good | 4.3 |
| Duisburg | 17 km | 31 | Good | 4.4 |
| Herne | 17 km | 31 | Good | 4.3 |
| Recklinghausen | 22 km | 31 | Good | 4.3 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 2.5 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 180 sensors), centred about 24 km from the city centre. That is close to the model estimate of 4.5 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 31, 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 Essen
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.