Air quality
Air quality in Montpellier today
Updated
Good (US AQI 22) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 3:00 am (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Montpellier, Occitanie, France, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 22 Good
- PM2.5
- 3 µg/m³ 0.2× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 5.1 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 43 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- ozone sub-index 22
- Best hour today
- 6:00 am AQI 21
- European AQI
- 14
Air quality in Montpellier right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Montpellier, Occitanie, France is 22, 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 ozone, whose own sub-index is 22. Ozone usually peaks in the afternoon on sunny days and falls back after sunset.
PM2.5 is 3 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 5.1 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 43 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 3 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 126 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 1 fire hotspot within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 284 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Montpellier AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 21 around Mon 4:00 am to 30 around Mon 4:00 pm, staying "Good" throughout.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 34 against 25 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Europe/Paris) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 3:00 am | 22 | Good | 3 | 5 | 43 |
| Mon 6:00 am | 21 | Good | 3 | 5 | 47 |
| Mon 9:00 am | 21 | Good | 3.8 | 6 | 54 |
| Mon 12:00 pm | 25 | Good | 3 | 7 | 70 |
| Mon 3:00 pm | 29 | Good | 2.6 | 5 | 65 |
| Mon 6:00 pm | 30 | Good | 5.2 | 9 | 48 |
| Mon 9:00 pm | 26 | Good | 8.5 | 14 | 37 |
| Tue 12:00 am | 23 | Good | 7.2 | 9 | 34 |
| Tue 3:00 am | 26 | Good | 7.3 | 9 | 25 |
| Tue 6:00 am | 29 | Good | 5.7 | 8 | 32 |
| Tue 9:00 am | 31 | Good | 7.9 | 10 | 42 |
| Tue 12:00 pm | 33 | Good | 5.9 | 11 | 55 |
| Tue 3:00 pm | 35 | Good | 5.1 | 9 | 69 |
| Tue 6:00 pm | 37 | Good | 6.3 | 13 | 68 |
| Tue 9:00 pm | 37 | Good | 7.7 | 13 | 42 |
| Wed 12:00 am | 37 | Good | 7 | 9 | 46 |
| Wed 3:00 am | 36 | Good | 5.2 | 6 | 49 |
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 Montpellier today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 21, Good) and the worst around 4:00 pm (AQI 30). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Montpellier vs the rest of France
Across 23 France cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 27 (Good). Montpellier at 22 is 5 points cleaner than average.
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Montpellier
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | 95 km | 31 | Good | 3.8 |
| Marseille | 126 km | 27 | Good | 3.5 |
| Toulouse | 196 km | 21 | Good | 4.9 |
| Girona | 200 km | 30 | Good | 5.6 |
| Salt | 202 km | 30 | Good | 5.6 |
| Lyon | 250 km | 32 | Good | 9 |
| Nice | 273 km | 18 | Good | 2.4 |
| Badalona | 275 km | 51 | Moderate | 14.5 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 1.7 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 3 sensors), centred about 5 km from the city centre. That is close to the model estimate of 3 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 22, 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 Montpellier
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.