Air quality

Air quality in Rahim Yar Khan today

Updated

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 119) People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 1:00 am (20:00 UTC).

Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.

US AQI now
119 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
PM2.5
37 µg/m³ 2.5× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
50 µg/m³
Ozone
71 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 119
Best hour today
5:00 pm AQI 107
European AQI
53

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Air quality in Rahim Yar Khan right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan is 119, which falls in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" band (up to 150). People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 119. 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 37 µg/m³, 2.5 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 50 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 71 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 5 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: carbon monoxide 484 µg/m³.

Rahim Yar Khan AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 107 around Mon 5:00 pm to 121 around Mon 4:00 am, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.

The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 133 against 113 for the next 24 hours.

Local time (Asia/Karachi)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Mon 1:00 am119Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups37.35071
Mon 4:00 am121Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups37.54858
Mon 7:00 am118Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups40.64847
Mon 10:00 am114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups39.85998
Mon 1:00 pm110Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups36.488132
Mon 4:00 pm108Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups28.365117
Mon 7:00 pm107Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups47.77886
Mon 10:00 pm110Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups71.510568
Tue 1:00 am121Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups71.99955
Tue 4:00 am130Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups50.86550
Tue 7:00 am133Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups57.96945
Tue 10:00 am137Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups35.74499
Tue 1:00 pm135Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups29.245134
Tue 4:00 pm134Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups27.548121
Tue 7:00 pm134Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups48.16691
Tue 10:00 pm133Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups66.18570
Wed 1:00 am131Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups65.98353

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 Rahim Yar Khan today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 5:00 pm (AQI 107, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 119). That is a swing of 12 points, so a run or walk around 5:00 pm is noticeably better.

Rahim Yar Khan vs the rest of Pakistan

Across 50 Pakistan cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 121 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Rahim Yar Khan at 119 is about average.

It ranks 21 of 50 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Battagram (57) and the most polluted Chak Jhumra (158).

For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.

Air quality in cities near Rahim Yar Khan

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Jalalpur Pirwala150 km150Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups59.8
Sukkur163 km101Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups31.8
Bahawalpur172 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups35.5
Lodhran179 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups35.5
Dera Ghazi Khan184 km113Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups31.5
Larkana227 km101Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups41.7
Multan228 km153Unhealthy60.5
Bikaner298 km113Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups32.2

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Rahim Yar Khan, 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.

Wildfire smoke

PM2.5 is forecast to reach 77 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 126 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 31 km away). Smoke is a likely contributor: keep windows closed, run an air purifier or HVAC filter, and check the fire map before heading out.

Advice for sensitive groups

At 119, children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with asthma, COPD or heart disease should limit time outdoors, especially strenuous activity. A well-fitted N95/FFP2 mask cuts particle exposure; it does not filter ozone.

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 Rahim Yar Khan

Air quality elsewhere

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