Air quality

Air quality in Peterborough, ON today

Updated

Good (US AQI 34) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 3:00 pm (19:00 UTC).

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

US AQI now
34 Good
PM2.5
4.7 µg/m³ 0.3× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
4.8 µg/m³
Ozone
79 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 34
Best hour today
3:00 pm AQI 34
European AQI
30

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Air quality in Peterborough, ON right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Peterborough, Ontario, Canada is 34, 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 34. 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 79 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 9.7 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: UV index 1.7, carbon monoxide 173 µg/m³.

NASA FIRMS shows 80 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 69 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.

Peterborough, ON AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 34 around Sun 3:00 pm to 56 around Mon 11:00 am, from "Good" at best to "Moderate" at worst.

The following day is expected to be cleaner, averaging about 40 against 47 for the next 24 hours.

Local time (America/Toronto)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Sun 3:00 pm34Good4.7579
Sun 6:00 pm37Good8.4870
Sun 9:00 pm40Good11.81259
Mon 12:00 am44Good13.51455
Mon 3:00 am49Good16.91747
Mon 6:00 am52Moderate18.71950
Mon 9:00 am55Moderate16.91757
Mon 12:00 pm55Moderate4.5563
Mon 3:00 pm55Moderate2.7366
Mon 6:00 pm55Moderate2.4363
Mon 9:00 pm53Moderate2253
Tue 12:00 am50Good1152
Tue 3:00 am41Good0.6148
Tue 6:00 am29Good0.6147
Tue 9:00 am22Good1.5251
Tue 12:00 pm24Good0.9166
Tue 3:00 pm27Good1.1274

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 Peterborough, ON today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 3:00 pm (AQI 34, Good) and the worst around 9:00 pm (AQI 40). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.

Peterborough, ON vs the rest of Canada

Across 12 Canada cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 51 (Moderate). Peterborough, ON at 34 is 17 points cleaner than average.

For context, the median across 667 cities worldwide is 71.

Air quality in cities near Peterborough, ON

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Richmond Hill101 km36Good8.1
Thornhill104 km36Good8.1
Vaughan108 km36Good8.1
Toronto109 km36Good8.1
Etobicoke124 km36Good8.1

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Peterborough, ON, 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 34, 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 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 Peterborough

Air quality elsewhere

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