Air quality
Air quality in Yanbu today
Updated
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 149) People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 9:00 pm (18:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Yanbu, Medina Region, Saudi Arabia, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 149 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
- PM2.5
- 47 µg/m³ 3.1× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 87 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 65 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 149
- Best hour tomorrow
- 9:00 pm AQI 115
- European AQI
- 58
Air quality in Yanbu right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Yanbu, Medina Region, Saudi Arabia is 149, 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 149. 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 47 µg/m³, 3.1 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 87 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 65 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 19 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: desert dust at 58 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 246 µg/m³.
Yanbu AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 115 around Mon 9:00 pm to 149 around Sun 9:00 pm, staying "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" throughout.
The following day is expected to be cleaner, averaging about 100 against 135 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Asia/Riyadh) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 9:00 pm | 149 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 47.1 | 87 | 65 |
| Mon 12:00 am | 148 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 53.6 | 84 | 49 |
| Mon 3:00 am | 142 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 54.1 | 83 | 40 |
| Mon 6:00 am | 139 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 52.9 | 82 | 37 |
| Mon 9:00 am | 136 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 35.3 | 72 | 60 |
| Mon 12:00 pm | 131 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 34.3 | 66 | 80 |
| Mon 3:00 pm | 127 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 32 | 58 | 99 |
| Mon 6:00 pm | 121 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 26.7 | 45 | 62 |
| Mon 9:00 pm | 115 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 29.6 | 46 | 53 |
| Tue 12:00 am | 110 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 38.8 | 55 | 44 |
| Tue 3:00 am | 105 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 34.6 | 52 | 41 |
| Tue 6:00 am | 99 | Moderate | 39.6 | 59 | 38 |
| Tue 9:00 am | 97 | Moderate | 27.8 | 56 | 62 |
| Tue 12:00 pm | 95 | Moderate | 29.9 | 52 | 67 |
| Tue 3:00 pm | 94 | Moderate | 28.2 | 43 | 96 |
| Tue 6:00 pm | 94 | Moderate | 27.4 | 43 | 78 |
| Tue 9:00 pm | 94 | Moderate | 36.4 | 60 | 76 |
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 Yanbu tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 9:00 pm (AQI 115, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 139). That is a swing of 24 points, so a run or walk around 9:00 pm is noticeably better.
Yanbu vs the rest of Saudi Arabia
Across 18 Saudi Arabia cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 114 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Yanbu at 149 is 35 points worse than average.
It ranks 17 of 18 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Jizan (55) and the most polluted Riyadh (500).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Yanbu
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sulţānah | 161 km | 102 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 43.1 |
| Madinah | 163 km | 102 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 43.1 |
| Jeddah | 311 km | 96 | Moderate | 19.6 |
| Makkah | 347 km | 95 | Moderate | 17.5 |
| Ta’if | 396 km | 72 | Moderate | 15.2 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Yanbu, 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 55 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 19 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 20 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 149, 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 Yanbu
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.