Air quality

Air quality in Sohar today

Updated

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 126) 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 Sohar, Al Batinah North, Oman, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.

US AQI now
126 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
PM2.5
50 µg/m³ 3.3× WHO 24-h guideline
PM10
84 µg/m³
Ozone
70 µg/m³
Dominant pollutant
PM2.5 sub-index 126
Best hour today
9:00 pm AQI 120
European AQI
60

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Air quality in Sohar right now

Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Sohar, Al Batinah North, Oman is 126, 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 126. 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 50 µg/m³, 3.3 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 84 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 70 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 7.4 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).

Also this hour: desert dust at 52 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 179 µg/m³.

Sohar AQI forecast: next 48 hours

Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 114 around Tue 3:00 am to 126 around Mon 6:00 am, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.

The following day is expected to be cleaner, averaging about 112 against 121 for the next 24 hours.

Local time (Asia/Muscat)US AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³PM10 µg/m³Ozone µg/m³
Mon 6:00 am126Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups49.88470
Mon 9:00 am125Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups46.682107
Mon 12:00 pm125Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups38.664138
Mon 3:00 pm124Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups37.159145
Mon 6:00 pm122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups3656130
Mon 9:00 pm120Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups31.747101
Tue 12:00 am116Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups40.66977
Tue 3:00 am114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups49.29954
Tue 6:00 am114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups52.210740
Tue 9:00 am115Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups45.49775
Tue 12:00 pm114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups38.275105
Tue 3:00 pm114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups3570119
Tue 6:00 pm113Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups33.569114
Tue 9:00 pm113Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups30.65893
Wed 12:00 am112Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups30.55475
Wed 3:00 am108Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups34.36476
Wed 6:00 am103Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups387582

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 Sohar today

Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 9:00 pm (AQI 120, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 126). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.

Sohar vs the rest of Oman

Across 3 Oman cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 108 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Sohar at 126 is 18 points worse than average.

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

Air quality in cities near Sohar

CityDistanceUS AQICategoryPM2.5 µg/m³
Fujairah93 km95Moderate49.1
Al Ain City98 km88Moderate41.3
Warīsān160 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups43.7
Dubai163 km114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups61.7
Seeb168 km105Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups35.5
Ajman171 km132Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups61.7
Sharjah171 km122Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups43.7
Jebel Ali177 km114Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups61.7

Model vs measured

We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Sohar, 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 52 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 56 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 15 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 126, 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 Sohar

Air quality elsewhere

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