Air quality
Air quality in Yaoundé today
Updated
Moderate (US AQI 70) Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 11:45 pm (22:45 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Yaoundé, Centre, Cameroon, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 70 Moderate
- PM2.5
- 41 µg/m³ 2.8× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 56 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 15 µg/m³
Air quality in Yaoundé right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Yaoundé, Centre, Cameroon is 70, which falls in the "Moderate" band (up to 100). Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors.
PM2.5 is 41 µg/m³, 2.8 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 56 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 15 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 11 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Yaoundé vs the rest of Cameroon
Across 7 Cameroon cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 99 (Moderate). Yaoundé at 70 is 29 points cleaner than average.
It ranks 2 of 7 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Douala (54) and the most polluted Bafoussam (151).
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Yaoundé
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douala | 202 km | 54 | Moderate | 27.6 |
| Bafoussam | 217 km | 151 | Unhealthy | 79.9 |
| Bamenda | 278 km | 127 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 64.7 |
| Bali, North-West | 280 km | 127 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 64.7 |
| Calabar | 374 km | 63 | Moderate | 21.8 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Yaoundé, 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 41 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 10 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 58 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 70, most people are fine outdoors. If you are unusually sensitive to air pollution, 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 Yaoundé
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.