Air quality
Air quality in Quetta today
Updated
Moderate (US AQI 56) Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 11:00 pm (18:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 56 Moderate
- PM2.5
- 24 µg/m³ 1.6× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 84 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 52 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 56
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 64
- European AQI
- 50
Air quality in Quetta right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan is 56, 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 56. 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 24 µg/m³, 1.6 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 84 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 52 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 23 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: desert dust at 133 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 447 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 4 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 162 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Quetta AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 56 around Sun 11:00 pm to 69 around Mon 12:00 pm, staying "Moderate" throughout.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 60.
| Local time (Asia/Karachi) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 11:00 pm | 56 | Moderate | 24 | 84 | 52 |
| Mon 2:00 am | 60 | Moderate | 24.7 | 87 | 48 |
| Mon 5:00 am | 63 | Moderate | 23.3 | 84 | 52 |
| Mon 8:00 am | 66 | Moderate | 25.6 | 81 | 45 |
| Mon 11:00 am | 68 | Moderate | 12.4 | 57 | 107 |
| Mon 2:00 pm | 69 | Moderate | 11.9 | 44 | 118 |
| Mon 5:00 pm | 69 | Moderate | 11.6 | 32 | 111 |
| Mon 8:00 pm | 68 | Moderate | 13.3 | 30 | 81 |
| Mon 11:00 pm | 66 | Moderate | 15.4 | 33 | 55 |
| Tue 2:00 am | 64 | Moderate | 15.3 | 34 | 45 |
| Tue 5:00 am | 62 | Moderate | 14.3 | 35 | 51 |
| Tue 8:00 am | 60 | Moderate | 17.3 | 36 | 45 |
| Tue 11:00 am | 58 | Moderate | 10.4 | 28 | 113 |
| Tue 2:00 pm | 58 | Moderate | 12.2 | 31 | 119 |
| Tue 5:00 pm | 58 | Moderate | 12 | 28 | 110 |
| Tue 8:00 pm | 58 | Moderate | 14.9 | 30 | 79 |
| Tue 11:00 pm | 59 | Moderate | 17.5 | 33 | 53 |
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 Quetta tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 64, Moderate) and the worst around 12:00 pm (AQI 69). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Quetta vs the rest of Pakistan
Across 52 Pakistan cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 121 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Quetta at 56 is 65 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 1 of 52 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Quetta (56) and the most polluted Chak Jhumra (158).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Quetta
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kandahār | 201 km | 51 | Moderate | 5.8 |
| Larkana | 315 km | 99 | Moderate | 46.1 |
| Sukkur | 330 km | 102 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 32.9 |
| Dera Ghazi Khan | 350 km | 117 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 35.7 |
| Saddiqabad | 368 km | 126 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 46.2 |
| Rahim Yar Khan | 375 km | 117 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 40.6 |
| Tank | 393 km | 101 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 32.7 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Quetta, 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 56, 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 Quetta
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.