Air quality
Air quality in Gelsenkirchen today
Updated
Good (US AQI 30) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 9:34 pm (20:34 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 30 Good
- PM2.5
- 4.8 µg/m³ 0.3× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 8.1 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 61 µg/m³
Air quality in Gelsenkirchen right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is 30, 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.
PM2.5 is 4.8 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 8.1 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).
NASA FIRMS shows 14 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 27 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Gelsenkirchen vs the rest of Germany
Across 40 Germany cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 30 (Good). Gelsenkirchen at 30 is about average.
It ranks 15 of 40 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Munich (28) and the most polluted Bremerhaven (33).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Gelsenkirchen
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essen | 8 km | 30 | Good | 4.8 |
| Bochum | 9 km | 30 | Good | 4.7 |
| Herne | 10 km | 30 | Good | 4.7 |
| Bottrop | 12 km | 30 | Good | 4.8 |
| Recklinghausen | 14 km | 30 | Good | 4.7 |
| Oberhausen | 16 km | 30 | Good | 4.7 |
| Mülheim | 17 km | 30 | Good | 4.8 |
| Duisburg | 24 km | 30 | Good | 4.7 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 2.3 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 178 sensors), centred about 18 km from the city centre. That is close to the model estimate of 4.8 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 30, 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 Gelsenkirchen
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.