Air quality by country
Air quality in South Korea today
Updated
Moderate: average US AQI 52 across 42 cities Worst now: Seoul (69); cleanest: Mokpo (26).
Live US AQI, PM2.5 and ozone for cities across South Korea, ranked from most polluted to cleanest.
- Average US AQI
- 52 Moderate
- Most polluted now
- Seoul AQI 69
- Cleanest now
- Mokpo AQI 26
- Cities above 100
- 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse
Air quality in South Korea today
Right now the modelled air quality in South Korea averages a US AQI of 52 (Moderate) across the 42 cities we track. By category: 15 Good, 27 Moderate (of 42).
That is 13 points better than the worldwide average of 65 across 3,909 cities.
Seoul has the worst air at 69 with PM2.5 at 18 µg/m³, while Mokpo is cleanest at 26. No tracked city is above 100, the level where sensitive groups are advised to cut back outdoors.
South Korea cities by AQI (most polluted first)
| City | Region | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seoul | Seoul | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Incheon | Incheon | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Goyang-si | Gyeonggi-do | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Bucheon-si | Gyeonggi-do | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Anyang-si | Gyeonggi-do | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Paju | Gyeonggi-do | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Gwangmyeong | Gyeonggi-do | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Gimpo-si | Gyeonggi-do | 69 | Moderate | 17.8 | 30 |
| Hwaseong-si | Gyeonggi-do | 68 | Moderate | 19.4 | 29 |
| Ansan-si | Gyeonggi-do | 68 | Moderate | 19.4 | 29 |
| Suwon | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 16.8 | 38 |
| Seongnam-si | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 15.7 | 38 |
| Uijeongbu-si | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 15.7 | 38 |
| Gunpo | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 16.8 | 38 |
| Hanam | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 15.7 | 38 |
| Osan | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 16.8 | 38 |
| Guri-si | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 15.7 | 38 |
| Yangju | Gyeonggi-do | 62 | Moderate | 15.7 | 38 |
| Cheonan | Chungcheongnam-do | 58 | Moderate | 16.1 | 48 |
| Pyeongtaek | Gyeonggi-do | 58 | Moderate | 16.1 | 48 |
| Daejeon | Daejeon | 54 | Moderate | 15.4 | 58 |
| Sejong | Sejong-si | 54 | Moderate | 15.4 | 58 |
| Chuncheon | Gangwon-do | 54 | Moderate | 8.2 | 63 |
| Cheongju-si | North Chungcheong | 53 | Moderate | 16.1 | 65 |
| Wŏnju | Gangwon-do | 53 | Moderate | 15.4 | 69 |
| Gumi | Gyeongsangbuk-do | 52 | Moderate | 14 | 68 |
| Iksan | Jeollabuk-do | 51 | Moderate | 14.2 | 60 |
| Daegu | Daegu | 48 | Good | 12.3 | 70 |
| Pohang | Gyeongsangbuk-do | 48 | Good | 12.9 | 71 |
| Jeonju | Jeollabuk-do | 46 | Good | 13.7 | 68 |
| Busan | Busan | 37 | Good | 7.3 | 72 |
| Ulsan | Ulsan | 37 | Good | 9.8 | 74 |
| Changwon | Gyeongsangnam-do | 34 | Good | 8.1 | 67 |
| Kimhae | Gyeongsangnam-do | 34 | Good | 8.1 | 67 |
| Jeju City | Jeju-do | 34 | Good | 1.9 | 73 |
| Yangsan | Gyeongsangnam-do | 34 | Good | 8.1 | 67 |
| Gwangju | Gwangju | 31 | Good | 9.9 | 60 |
| Masan | Gwangju | 31 | Good | 9.9 | 60 |
| Chinju | Gyeongsangnam-do | 30 | Good | 10.7 | 70 |
| Suncheon | Jeollanam-do | 30 | Good | 10.1 | 71 |
| Yeosu | Jeollanam-do | 30 | Good | 10.1 | 71 |
| Mokpo | Jeollanam-do | 26 | Good | 6.4 | 57 |
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. |
Modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) via Open-Meteo, refreshed twice a day; read hour by hour from the forecast.
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Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).