Air quality
Air quality in Iquitos today
Updated
Good (US AQI 21) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 8:00 pm (01:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Iquitos, Loreto, Peru, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 21 Good
- PM2.5
- 4.7 µg/m³ 0.3× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 4.8 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 14 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 21
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 19
- European AQI
- 19
Air quality in Iquitos right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Iquitos, Loreto, Peru is 21, 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 PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 21. 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 4.7 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 4.8 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 14 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 1.1 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 168 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 12 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.
Iquitos AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 18 around Mon 12:00 am to 27 around Mon 8:00 pm, staying "Good" throughout.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 30 against 21 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (America/Lima) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 8:00 pm | 21 | Good | 4.7 | 5 | 14 |
| Sun 11:00 pm | 19 | Good | 4.8 | 5 | 13 |
| Mon 2:00 am | 18 | Good | 4.7 | 5 | 12 |
| Mon 5:00 am | 19 | Good | 5.3 | 5 | 13 |
| Mon 8:00 am | 21 | Good | 4.9 | 5 | 21 |
| Mon 11:00 am | 23 | Good | 3.4 | 4 | 29 |
| Mon 2:00 pm | 24 | Good | 3.7 | 4 | 30 |
| Mon 5:00 pm | 25 | Good | 5.4 | 6 | 22 |
| Mon 8:00 pm | 27 | Good | 9.5 | 10 | 13 |
| Mon 11:00 pm | 29 | Good | 5.5 | 6 | 18 |
| Tue 2:00 am | 30 | Good | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Tue 5:00 am | 30 | Good | 5.3 | 5 | 18 |
| Tue 8:00 am | 29 | Good | 5 | 5 | 22 |
| Tue 11:00 am | 30 | Good | 5.2 | 5 | 27 |
| Tue 2:00 pm | 31 | Good | 5.3 | 5 | 27 |
| Tue 5:00 pm | 32 | Good | 7.1 | 7 | 24 |
| Tue 8:00 pm | 33 | Good | 9.6 | 10 | 16 |
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 Iquitos tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 19, Good) and the worst around 9:00 pm (AQI 28). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Iquitos vs the rest of Peru
Across 19 Peru cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 48 (Good). Iquitos at 21 is 27 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 1 of 19 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Iquitos (29) and the most polluted Arequipa (66).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Iquitos
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan, Loreto | 4 km | 29 | Good | 7 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Iquitos, 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.
Advice for sensitive groups
With the AQI at 21, 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 Iquitos
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.