Air quality

Air quality in Shaoyang today

Updated

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 138) 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, 2:00 am (18:00 UTC).

Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Shaoyang, Hunan, China, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.

US AQI now
138 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
PM2.5
67 µg/m³ 4.5× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
69 µg/m³
Ozone
31 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 138
Best hour today
9:00 pm AQI 131
European AQI
69

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Air quality in Shaoyang right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Shaoyang, Hunan, China is 138, 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 138. 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 67 µg/m³, 4.5 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 69 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 31 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 29 µg/m³ (above the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: carbon monoxide 1003 µg/m³.

Shaoyang AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 116 around Tue 2:00 am to 146 around Mon 11:00 am, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.

The following day is expected to be cleaner, averaging about 99 against 137 for the next 24 hours.

Local time (Asia/Shanghai)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Mon 2:00 am138Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups67.36931
Mon 5:00 am138Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups747620
Mon 8:00 am141Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups86.68822
Mon 11:00 am146Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups37.339122
Mon 2:00 pm142Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups2022139
Mon 5:00 pm137Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups19.421113
Mon 8:00 pm133Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups23.52498
Mon 11:00 pm127Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups28.82994
Tue 2:00 am116Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups29.63077
Tue 5:00 am104Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups36.63747
Tue 8:00 am94Moderate44.74537
Tue 11:00 am89Moderate43.84556
Tue 2:00 pm92Moderate37.83998
Tue 5:00 pm96Moderate36.33790
Tue 8:00 pm100Moderate40.34144
Tue 11:00 pm106Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups43.94532
Wed 2:00 am111Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups48.25024

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 Shaoyang today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 9:00 pm (AQI 131, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 11:00 am (AQI 146). That is a swing of 15 points, so a run or walk around 9:00 pm is noticeably better.

Shaoyang vs the rest of China

Across 467 China cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 84 (Moderate). Shaoyang at 138 is 54 points worse than average.

It ranks 433 of 467 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Hulunbuir (21) and the most polluted Artux (264).

For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.

Air quality in cities near Shaoyang

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Loudi76 km133Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups57
Wuxi, Hunan83 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups53.7
Yongzhou92 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups53.9
Hengyang121 km108Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups50.5
Hongjiang146 km93Moderate43.5
Huaihua148 km94Moderate44
Xiangtan157 km128Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups47.5
Heshan172 km125Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups43.2

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Shaoyang, 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 87 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 16 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 51 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 138, 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 Shaoyang

Air quality elsewhere

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