Air quality

Air quality in Kolda today

Updated

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 122) People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 2:00 am (02:00 UTC).

Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Kolda, Senegal, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.

US AQI now
122 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
PM2.5
48 µg/m³ 3.2× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
74 µg/m³
Ozone
32 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 122
Best hour today
6:00 am AQI 130
European AQI
59

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Air quality in Kolda right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Kolda, Senegal is 122, which falls in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" band (up to 150). People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 122. 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 48 µg/m³, 3.2 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 74 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 32 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 5.1 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: carbon monoxide 150 µg/m³.

Kolda AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 122 around Mon 2:00 am to 147 around Mon 5:00 pm, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.

The following day looks similar, averaging about 137.

Local time (Africa/Dakar)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Mon 2:00 am122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups48.27432
Mon 5:00 am127Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups49.66736
Mon 8:00 am134Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups526950
Mon 11:00 am141Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups61.910279
Mon 2:00 pm145Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups59.611286
Mon 5:00 pm147Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups49.99574
Mon 8:00 pm146Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups51.68752
Mon 11:00 pm145Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups53.79033
Tue 2:00 am145Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups50.97130
Tue 5:00 am146Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups486028
Tue 8:00 am144Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups42.65939
Tue 11:00 am141Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups45.98164
Tue 2:00 pm136Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups45.49078
Tue 5:00 pm132Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups43.99677
Tue 8:00 pm130Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups47.69655
Tue 11:00 pm129Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups47.78341
Wed 2:00 am127Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups42.66436

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 Kolda today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 130, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 5:00 pm (AQI 147). That is a swing of 17 points, so a run or walk around 6:00 am is noticeably better.

Kolda vs the rest of Senegal

Across 9 Senegal cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 158 (Unhealthy). Kolda at 122 is 36 points cleaner than average.

For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.

Air quality in cities near Kolda

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Bissau135 km86Moderate42.4
Kaolack186 km153Unhealthy56.3
Serekunda198 km162Unhealthy64.7
Mbaké235 km153Unhealthy54.4
Touba241 km153Unhealthy54.4
Thiès301 km159Unhealthy54.7
Thiès Nones303 km159Unhealthy54.7
Rufisque323 km162Unhealthy62.4

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Kolda, 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 63 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 160 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 143 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 122, 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 AQICategoryWhat it means
0-50GoodAir quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity.
51-100ModerateAcceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors.
101-150Unhealthy for Sensitive GroupsPeople with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
151-200UnhealthyEveryone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed.
201-300Very UnhealthyHealth alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors.
301-500HazardousEmergency 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 Kolda

Air quality elsewhere

Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.