Air quality
Air quality in Torrance today
Updated
Moderate (US AQI 66) Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 5:00 pm (00:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Torrance, California, United States, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 66 Moderate
- PM2.5
- 10 µg/m³ 0.7× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 11 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 88 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 66
- Best hour today
- 5:00 pm AQI 66
- European AQI
- 34
Air quality in Torrance right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Torrance, California, United States is 66, which falls in the "Moderate" band (up to 100). Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 66. 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 10 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 11 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 88 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 21 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 172 µg/m³.
Torrance AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 66 around Sun 5:00 pm to 77 around Mon 11:00 am, staying "Moderate" throughout.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 76.
| Local time (America/Los_Angeles) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 5:00 pm | 66 | Moderate | 10.4 | 11 | 88 |
| Sun 8:00 pm | 67 | Moderate | 14.6 | 15 | 22 |
| Sun 11:00 pm | 69 | Moderate | 22.3 | 23 | 0 |
| Mon 2:00 am | 69 | Moderate | 31.9 | 33 | 0 |
| Mon 5:00 am | 71 | Moderate | 36.9 | 38 | 0 |
| Mon 8:00 am | 74 | Moderate | 39.5 | 40 | 3 |
| Mon 11:00 am | 77 | Moderate | 18.3 | 20 | 65 |
| Mon 2:00 pm | 77 | Moderate | 13.3 | 16 | 101 |
| Mon 5:00 pm | 77 | Moderate | 10.2 | 13 | 98 |
| Mon 8:00 pm | 77 | Moderate | 12.9 | 15 | 37 |
| Mon 11:00 pm | 76 | Moderate | 21.1 | 23 | 1 |
| Tue 2:00 am | 76 | Moderate | 32.2 | 34 | 0 |
| Tue 5:00 am | 76 | Moderate | 36.2 | 38 | 0 |
| Tue 8:00 am | 76 | Moderate | 36.6 | 38 | 4 |
| Tue 11:00 am | 76 | Moderate | 22.1 | 25 | 70 |
| Tue 2:00 pm | 77 | Moderate | 20.2 | 24 | 105 |
| Tue 5:00 pm | 79 | Moderate | 20.4 | 25 | 102 |
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 Torrance today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 5:00 pm (AQI 66, Moderate) and the worst around 9:00 pm (AQI 68). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Torrance vs the rest of United States
Across 619 United States cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 52 (Moderate). Torrance at 66 is 14 points worse than average.
It ranks 375 of 619 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Hilo (20) and the most polluted Springfield, PA (133).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Torrance
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redondo Beach | 5 km | 66 | Moderate | 10.5 |
| Carson | 5 km | 54 | Moderate | 13.3 |
| Gardena | 7 km | 66 | Moderate | 10.5 |
| Inglewood | 14 km | 66 | Moderate | 10.5 |
| Long Beach | 16 km | 54 | Moderate | 13.3 |
| Downey | 22 km | 66 | Moderate | 10.5 |
| Norwalk | 25 km | 58 | Moderate | 13 |
| Los Angeles | 26 km | 66 | Moderate | 10.5 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Torrance, 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 40 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 59 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 2 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 66, most people are fine outdoors. If you are unusually sensitive to PM2.5, keep long or intense workouts to the cleaner hours shown above.
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 Torrance
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.