Air quality
Air quality in Sokoto today
Updated
Unhealthy (US AQI 165) Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 7:00 pm (18:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Sokoto, Nigeria, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 165 Unhealthy
- PM2.5
- 75 µg/m³ 5× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 148 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 67 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 165
- Best hour tomorrow
- 11:00 am AQI 155
- European AQI
- 72
Air quality in Sokoto right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Sokoto, Nigeria is 165, which falls in the "Unhealthy" band (up to 200). Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 165. 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 75 µg/m³, 5 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 148 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 67 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 10 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: desert dust at 143 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 843 µg/m³.
Sokoto AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 155 around Mon 11:00 am to 166 around Sun 9:00 pm, staying "Unhealthy" throughout.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 173 against 159 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Africa/Lagos) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 7:00 pm | 165 | Unhealthy | 74.5 | 148 | 67 |
| Sun 10:00 pm | 166 | Unhealthy | 81.7 | 145 | 58 |
| Mon 1:00 am | 165 | Unhealthy | 73.1 | 140 | 55 |
| Mon 4:00 am | 161 | Unhealthy | 65.9 | 123 | 50 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 157 | Unhealthy | 65.2 | 106 | 46 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 156 | Unhealthy | 64.5 | 128 | 131 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 155 | Unhealthy | 40.2 | 123 | 102 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 155 | Unhealthy | 41.2 | 122 | 100 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 155 | Unhealthy | 96.9 | 172 | 64 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 159 | Unhealthy | 161.1 | 242 | 31 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 167 | Unhealthy | 153.2 | 242 | 31 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 174 | Unhealthy | 137.8 | 241 | 38 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 179 | Unhealthy | 104.1 | 204 | 55 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 181 | Unhealthy | 64.3 | 135 | 127 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 182 | Unhealthy | 46.4 | 116 | 127 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 182 | Unhealthy | 43.1 | 112 | 123 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 182 | Unhealthy | 90.1 | 154 | 77 |
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 Sokoto tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 11:00 am (AQI 155, Unhealthy) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 158). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Sokoto vs the rest of Nigeria
Across 69 Nigeria cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 106 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Sokoto at 165 is 59 points worse than average.
It ranks 64 of 69 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Calabar (64) and the most polluted Kano (239).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Sokoto
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maradi | 207 km | 100 | Moderate | 30.2 |
| Gaya, Dosso Region | 235 km | 154 | Unhealthy | 56.2 |
| Katsina | 256 km | 193 | Unhealthy | 105.9 |
| Niamey | 343 km | 134 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 47.1 |
| Zaria | 346 km | 182 | Unhealthy | 98 |
| Kaduna | 370 km | 151 | Unhealthy | 53.3 |
| Kano | 374 km | 239 | Very Unhealthy | 121.1 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Sokoto, 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 97 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 516 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 7 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 165, 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 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 Sokoto
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.