Air quality
Air quality in Nelson, BC today
Updated
Moderate (US AQI 100) Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 7:00 pm (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 100 Moderate
- PM2.5
- 41 µg/m³ 2.7× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 41 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 71 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 100
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 91
- European AQI
- 55
Air quality in Nelson, BC right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Nelson, British Columbia, Canada is 100, which falls in the "Moderate" band (up to 100). Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 100. 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 41 µg/m³, 2.7 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 41 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 71 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 6 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 1611 µg/m³.
Nelson, BC AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 89 around Mon 1:00 am to 122 around Mon 7:00 pm, from "Moderate" at best to "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" at worst.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 156 against 96 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (America/Vancouver) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 7:00 pm | 100 | Moderate | 41 | 41 | 71 |
| Sun 10:00 pm | 92 | Moderate | 42 | 43 | 67 |
| Mon 1:00 am | 89 | Moderate | 38.5 | 39 | 66 |
| Mon 4:00 am | 89 | Moderate | 36.2 | 37 | 65 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 92 | Moderate | 33.2 | 34 | 64 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 96 | Moderate | 29 | 30 | 70 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 100 | Moderate | 38.5 | 40 | 84 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 106 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 63.8 | 65 | 85 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 122 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 131.3 | 134 | 72 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 136.4 | 140 | 63 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 158 | Unhealthy | 113.4 | 117 | 58 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 163 | Unhealthy | 50.3 | 52 | 57 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 163 | Unhealthy | 4.9 | 5 | 57 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 160 | Unhealthy | 7.2 | 7 | 58 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 158 | Unhealthy | 29.7 | 30 | 59 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 158 | Unhealthy | 61.9 | 62 | 58 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 155 | Unhealthy | 26.2 | 26 | 57 |
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 Nelson, BC tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 91, Moderate) and the worst around 9:00 pm (AQI 142). That is a swing of 51 points, so a run or walk around 6:00 am is noticeably better.
Nelson, BC vs the rest of Canada
Across 75 Canada cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 44 (Good). Nelson, BC at 100 is 56 points worse than average.
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Nelson, BC
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook | 110 km | 52 | Moderate | 18.7 |
| Kelowna | 164 km | 34 | Good | 5.7 |
| Vernon | 166 km | 67 | Moderate | 9.5 |
| Spokane | 205 km | 46 | Good | 5.3 |
| Coeur d'Alene | 206 km | 32 | Good | 7.6 |
| Kamloops | 252 km | 55 | Moderate | 20.7 |
| Kalispell | 261 km | 35 | Good | 5.1 |
| Calgary | 285 km | 39 | Good | 5.7 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Nelson, BC, 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
At 100, most people are fine outdoors. If you are unusually sensitive to PM2.5, keep long or intense workouts to the cleaner hours shown above.
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 Nelson
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).