Air quality

Air quality in Şaḩam today

Updated

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 106) 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, 6:00 am (02:00 UTC).

Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Şaḩam, Al Batinah North, Oman, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.

US AQI now
106 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
PM2.5
31 µg/m³ 2.1× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
49 µg/m³
Ozone
30 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 106
Best hour today
9:00 pm AQI 95
European AQI
49

Open on the live map

Air quality in Şaḩam right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Şaḩam, Al Batinah North, Oman is 106, 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 106. 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 31 µg/m³, 2.1 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 49 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 30 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 4.6 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: carbon monoxide 180 µg/m³.

Şaḩam AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 93 around Tue 2:00 am to 106 around Mon 6:00 am, from "Moderate" at best to "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" at worst.

The following day looks similar, averaging about 94.

Local time (Asia/Muscat)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Mon 6:00 am106Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups31.34930
Mon 9:00 am105Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups38.972100
Mon 12:00 pm104Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups32.866137
Mon 3:00 pm100Moderate31.464138
Mon 6:00 pm98Moderate29.752115
Mon 9:00 pm95Moderate28.33984
Tue 12:00 am94Moderate31.95158
Tue 3:00 am93Moderate34.96844
Tue 6:00 am94Moderate367139
Tue 9:00 am95Moderate367593
Tue 12:00 pm95Moderate37.388127
Tue 3:00 pm95Moderate31.769129
Tue 6:00 pm95Moderate29.361114
Tue 9:00 pm95Moderate27.64976
Wed 12:00 am94Moderate21.93347
Wed 3:00 am91Moderate18.22841
Wed 6:00 am87Moderate21.85057

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 Şaḩam today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 9:00 pm (AQI 95, Moderate) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 106). That is a swing of 11 points, so a run or walk around 9:00 pm is noticeably better.

Şaḩam vs the rest of Oman

Across 3 Oman cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 108 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Şaḩam at 106 is about average.

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

Air quality in cities near Şaḩam

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Al Ain City114 km88Moderate41.3
Fujairah119 km95Moderate49.1
Seeb143 km105Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups35.5
Bawshar167 km109Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups32.4
Muscat168 km109Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups32.4
Warīsān186 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups43.7
Dubai189 km114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups61.7
Sharjah197 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups43.7

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Şaḩam, 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 39 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 57 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 41 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 106, 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 Şaḩam

Air quality elsewhere

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