Air quality
Air quality in Leicester today
Updated
Good (US AQI 33) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 10:48 pm (22:48 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Leicester, England, United Kingdom, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 33 Good
- PM2.5
- 3.7 µg/m³ 0.2× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 8.9 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 65 µg/m³
Air quality in Leicester right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Leicester, England, United Kingdom is 33, 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 3.7 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 8.9 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 65 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 4.5 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
NASA FIRMS shows 35 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 109 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Leicester vs the rest of United Kingdom
Across 117 United Kingdom cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 33 (Good). Leicester at 33 is about average.
It ranks 25 of 117 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is London (30) and the most polluted Newquay (38).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Leicester
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby | 31 km | 33 | Good | 3.6 |
| Nottingham | 35 km | 33 | Good | 3.7 |
| Coventry | 36 km | 33 | Good | 3.7 |
| Kettering | 38 km | 33 | Good | 3.5 |
| Burton upon Trent | 39 km | 33 | Good | 3.3 |
| Derby | 39 km | 33 | Good | 3.4 |
| Birmingham | 55 km | 33 | Good | 3.6 |
| Mansfield | 55 km | 33 | Good | 4.5 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 1.5 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 10 sensors), centred about 20 km from the city centre. That is close to the model estimate of 3.7 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 33, 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 Leicester
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.