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Air quality · New South Wales, Australia

Sydney Air Quality Index (AQI) today

Modelled estimate for 23:00 local time (UTC+11), refreshed 3 Nov, 07:52 UTC+0.

58 Moderate

Live estimate · modelled

US EPA AQI23:00 UTC+11, 3 Nov Main pollutant: PM2.5

Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

This page uses EPA’s NowCast, which follows the last few hours, as the US government’s AirNow does. On a 24-hour average of particles, as many apps show, it is 47.

Over the next 24 hours the model expects the AQI to range from 25 around 08:00 to 63 around 23:00 (4 Nov).

523rd most polluted of 849 cities worldwide right now, 1st of 7 in Australia.

What to do today

  • Long walk or run outside OK, lighter if very sensitive
  • Kids playing outside OK
  • Airing the house Open
  • Mask outdoors Not needed

Based on the US EPA’s health statement: “Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.” General guidance, not medical advice.

Last 24 hours and next 48

Past hours Forecast

00:00 · 52 01:00 · 51 02:00 · 45 03:00 · 41 04:00 · 37 05:00 · 35 06:00 · 33 07:00 · 31 08:00 · 31 09:00 · 31 10:00 · 33 11:00 · 36 12:00 · 39 13:00 · 39 14:00 · 41 15:00 · 45 16:00 · 51 17:00 · 52 18:00 · 52 19:00 · 54 20:00 · 57 21:00 · 56 22:00 · 57 23:00 · 58 00:00 · 56 01:00 · 50 02:00 · 34 03:00 · 27 04:00 · 27 05:00 · 27 06:00 · 27 07:00 · 26 08:00 · 25 09:00 · 25 10:00 · 25 11:00 · 25 12:00 · 27 13:00 · 29 14:00 · 32 15:00 · 38 16:00 · 47 17:00 · 52 18:00 · 54 19:00 · 55 20:00 · 57 21:00 · 59 22:00 · 61 23:00 · 63 00:00 · 61 01:00 · 57 02:00 · 52 03:00 · 44 04:00 · 35 05:00 · 27 06:00 · 21 07:00 · 18 08:00 · 18 09:00 · 19 10:00 · 20 11:00 · 22 12:00 · 24 13:00 · 25 14:00 · 27 15:00 · 28 16:00 · 29 17:00 · 29 18:00 · 32 Now

US EPA AQI per hour, UTC+11. Particles use EPA’s NowCast (a 12-hour weighted average), ozone and CO an 8-hour average. Lighter bars are the CAMS forecast.

Show as a table
TimeAQI
Tue 00:0052
Tue 01:0051
Tue 02:0045
Tue 03:0041
Tue 04:0037
Tue 05:0035
Tue 06:0033
Tue 07:0031
Tue 08:0031
Tue 09:0031
Tue 10:0033
Tue 11:0036
Tue 12:0039
Tue 13:0039
Tue 14:0041
Tue 15:0045
Tue 16:0051
Tue 17:0052
Tue 18:0052
Tue 19:0054
Tue 20:0057
Tue 21:0056
Tue 22:0057
Tue 23:00 · Now58
Wed 00:00 · Forecast56
Wed 01:00 · Forecast50
Wed 02:00 · Forecast34
Wed 03:00 · Forecast27
Wed 04:00 · Forecast27
Wed 05:00 · Forecast27
Wed 06:00 · Forecast27
Wed 07:00 · Forecast26
Wed 08:00 · Forecast25
Wed 09:00 · Forecast25
Wed 10:00 · Forecast25
Wed 11:00 · Forecast25
Wed 12:00 · Forecast27
Wed 13:00 · Forecast29
Wed 14:00 · Forecast32
Wed 15:00 · Forecast38
Wed 16:00 · Forecast47
Wed 17:00 · Forecast52
Wed 18:00 · Forecast54
Wed 19:00 · Forecast55
Wed 20:00 · Forecast57
Wed 21:00 · Forecast59
Wed 22:00 · Forecast61
Wed 23:00 · Forecast63
Thu 00:00 · Forecast61
Thu 01:00 · Forecast57
Thu 02:00 · Forecast52
Thu 03:00 · Forecast44
Thu 04:00 · Forecast35
Thu 05:00 · Forecast27
Thu 06:00 · Forecast21
Thu 07:00 · Forecast18
Thu 08:00 · Forecast18
Thu 09:00 · Forecast19
Thu 10:00 · Forecast20
Thu 11:00 · Forecast22
Thu 12:00 · Forecast24
Thu 13:00 · Forecast25
Thu 14:00 · Forecast27
Thu 15:00 · Forecast28
Thu 16:00 · Forecast29
Thu 17:00 · Forecast29
Thu 18:00 · Forecast32

Pollutants this hour

  • PM2.5 13.2 µg/m³ 24-hour mean 8.5 µg/m³ · within WHO’s 24-hour guideline (15) 58
  • PM10 15 µg/m³ 14
  • O₃ 58 µg/m³ 33
  • NO₂ 27 µg/m³ 13
  • SO₂ 8 µg/m³ 4
  • CO 0.11 mg/m³ 1

Modelled concentrations at the city’s location (CAMS). The sub-index uses the same averaging as the headline, so the highest one is the AQI.

Nearby cities

City AQI
Canberra Australian Capital Territory 28
Gold Coast Queensland 32
Melbourne Victoria 56
Brisbane Queensland 31
Adelaide South Australia 37
Auckland New Zealand 38
Wellington New Zealand 36

Where this number comes from

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) forecasts air pollution worldwide on a grid (about 11 km over Europe, about 45 km elsewhere). We take the grid value at Sydney’s coordinates and score it with the US EPA’s method. It is a model, not a measurement: a nearby monitoring station can read quite differently, especially next to busy roads or during fires and dust storms.

Full methodology · Data: CAMS via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0); city list: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).

  • Good 0–50
  • Moderate 51–100
  • Unhealthy for sensitive groups 101–150
  • Unhealthy 151–200
  • Very unhealthy 201–300
  • Hazardous 301–500

Questions

What is the AQI in Sydney right now?
58 on the US EPA scale (Moderate) at 23:00 UTC+11, 3 Nov. PM2.5 is the pollutant with the highest sub-index. This is a modelled estimate from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), not a reading from a monitoring station.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Sydney today?
For most people, yes. The EPA’s statement for “Moderate”: Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. General guidance, not medical advice.

Will the air in Sydney get better or worse tomorrow?
Over the next 24 hours the model expects the AQI to range from 25 around 08:00 to 63 around 23:00 (4 Nov). Forecasts beyond a day are less certain.

How does Sydney compare with other cities?
Right now it is the 523rd most polluted of 849 cities we track worldwide, and 1st of 7 in Australia, all on the same US EPA scale.

Why does another app show a different AQI for Sydney?
Apps differ in source (government stations, low-cost sensors or a model like this one), in scale (US EPA, European, or a national index) and in averaging (hourly or NowCast, 8-hour, 24-hour). This page uses the US EPA AQI with EPA’s NowCast for particles, computed from the CAMS forecast for the city’s location.