94 µg/m³highest modelled PM2.5: Delhi
6.3×that place against the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³
86 of 361places above the WHO guideline in the model today
8official measured readings listed below
Worst modelled air quality: the 15 highest placesmodelled
Modelled fine particles (PM2.5) in micrograms per cubic metre, averaged over the 24 hours from 4 Nov, 09:00 UTC to 5 Nov, 09:00 UTC (model run of 4 Nov, 00:00 UTC), at 361 capitals and Voyaggora guide cities. These are model estimates, not measurements. Capital values come to a tenth of a unit; guide-city values are published as whole numbers, so they are rounded the same way here. WHO's 24-hour guideline for PM2.5 is 15 µg/m³.
| Place | Country | Modelled PM2.5, 24-hour mean (model) | Against the WHO 24-hour guideline | Desert dust (model) | Official reading to compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Delhi | India | about 94 µg/m³ | 6.3 times | small share | official reading on the guide |
| 2 Mumbai | India | about 86 µg/m³ | 5.7 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 3 Beijing | China | about 68 µg/m³ | 4.5 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 4 Shanghai | China | about 67 µg/m³ | 4.5 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 5 São Paulo | Brazil | about 55 µg/m³ | 3.7 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 6 Sarajevo | Bosnia and Herzegovina | about 47 µg/m³ | 3.1 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 7 Kuwait City | Kuwait | about 42 µg/m³ | 2.8 times | dust PM10 about 81 µg/m³ | none on our guide |
| 8 N'Djamena | Chad | about 41 µg/m³ | 2.7 times | dust PM10 about 145 µg/m³ | none on our guide |
| 9 Pristina | Kosovo | about 40 µg/m³ | 2.7 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 10 Jakarta | Indonesia | about 39 µg/m³ | 2.6 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 11 Agra | India | about 38 µg/m³ | 2.5 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 12 Dubai | United Arab Emirates | about 38 µg/m³ | 2.5 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 13 Hanoi | Vietnam | about 36 µg/m³ | 2.4 times | small share | none on our guide |
| 14 Manama | Bahrain | about 36 µg/m³ | 2.4 times | dust PM10 about 53 µg/m³ | none on our guide |
| 15 Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso | about 36 µg/m³ | 2.4 times | dust PM10 about 83 µg/m³ | none on our guide |
"Small share" means the model's desert-dust PM10 is below 50 µg/m³ at that place; larger dust amounts are shown. Dust is part of the total PM2.5, not added to it.
Today's picture
In today's model run 86 of the 361 ranked places are above the WHO 24-hour guideline, 20 are above twice that value and 6 above three times it. India has 3 of the 15 places in the table. The model puts desert dust (PM10) above 50 µg/m³ at 13 places; the highest is N'Djamena at about 145 µg/m³, where dust is part of the particle load rather than an addition to it.
Modelled values change with each model run and with the weather; a place near the top today can sit far lower in a few days, and a model can miss a local pollution event. That is one reason the official networks below matter more than the model whenever a station reports.
Measured: official monitoring networksmeasured
These readings were measured by official or public monitoring networks and are shown in the publisher's own wording (one-hour values are written "1-hour") with its credit. They are not ranked: stations differ in type (roadside or background), in averaging time and in the pollutant or index they publish, so a table across networks would compare unlike things. The last column gives the model estimate for the same city only so you can see how model and measurement can differ.
| Place | Measured reading (publisher's wording) and credit | Model estimate for the same city |
|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen (Denmark) | Air at the busy H.C. Andersens Boulevard station in Copenhagen, 1-hour reading to 07:00 UTC (micrograms per cubic metre): NO2 53.2, O3 0.8, PM10 72.1, PM2.5 9.8. Aarhus University notes the results are not quality-controlled. Aarhus University, Aktuel luftkvalitet i Danmark; Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science (Danish national monitoring programme NOVANA); no reuse terms published; checked 07:38 UTC | about 7 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
| Edinburgh (United Kingdom) | Latest 1-hour air readings at the Edinburgh St Leonards monitor: nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 12.1 µg/m³; PM10 particles 4.7 µg/m³; PM2.5 particles 2.2 µg/m³ (reading timestamped 07:00 UTC). Preliminary, unratified data. Defra UK-AIR; OGL v3.0; © Crown copyright 2021 Defra via uk-air.defra.gov.uk, licensed under the Open Government Licence; checked 07:38 UTC | about 4 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
| Reykjavik (Iceland) | Air at the Reykjavik Grensas roadside station, 1-hour reading to 07:00 UTC (micrograms per cubic metre): PM2.5 8, PM10 23.8, NO2 24.2, SO2 5.8. Values are not yet verified by the agency. UST Icelandic air quality (loftgaedi.is); Environment and Energy Agency of Iceland (UST), air quality API; no reuse terms published on api.ust.is; checked 07:38 UTC | about 5 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
| Singapore | 1-hour PM2.5 across Singapore's five regions (hour to 15:00 SGT) ranges from 9 µg/m³ in the east to 35 µg/m³ in the west. National Environment Agency (NEA); Contains information from PM2.5 accessed on 4 Nov 2026 from National Environment Agency via data.gov.sg which is made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0 https://data.gov.sg/open-data-licence; checked 07:38 UTC | about 26 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
| Stockholm (Sweden) | Fine particles (PM2.5) on busy Hornsgatan in central Stockholm measured 2.4 µg/m³ in the latest hour (reading stamped 07:00 UTC), and 2.2 µg/m³ on average over the past 24 hours. The WHO 24-hour guideline is 15 µg/m³. SMHI; CC0, Svensk miljöövervakning (datavärd SMHI); checked 07:38 UTC | about 4 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
| Tokyo (Japan) | PM2.5 at the national Shinjuku monitoring station (Tokyo) was 4 ug/m3 for 3 Nov, hour labelled 22:00 Japan time; that day so far: average 8, highest 17 ug/m3 over 22 hours. Provisional 1-hour values, published with a delay of up to a day. Ministry of the Environment, Japan, Soramame-kun; Public Data License 1.0 (national stations); Credit: Ministry of the Environment, Japan, Atmospheric Environmental Regional Observation System (Soramame-kun), https://soramame.env.go.jp/, accessed 04 Nov 2026; summarised by Voyaggora; checked 06:09 UTC | about 9 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
| Zurich (Switzerland) | 1-hour mean air pollution at the Stampfenbachstrasse station, stamped 06:00 Zurich time: PM2.5 11.29 µg/m3, PM10 14.46 µg/m3, NO2 11.05 µg/m3, O3 29.31 µg/m3. The City marks these values as provisional (they may still be corrected). Stadt Zürich, Umwelt- und Gesundheitsschutz (via data.stadt-zuerich.ch); CC0 (Creative Commons Zero); checked 07:29 UTC | about 8 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
| Delhi (India) | Delhi's air quality index is 381 (Very Poor) on India's National AQI scale, from 59 of 60 CPCB monitoring stations, with PM2.5 the leading pollutant. That is 37 points higher than the same time yesterday. Pollution-control (GRAP) stage in force: Stage II (Very Poor). Highest station Punjabi Bagh 458, lowest IGNOU_Maidan Garhi 281. Latest 1-hour data 07:30 UTC. Delhi AQI (aqi.delhi.gov.in); Delhi Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi, with CPCB readings; published under the Government Open Data License - India (licence stated on the publisher's data page); checked 07:38 UTC | about 94 µg/m³ (24-hour mean, model) |
How this is calculated
Modelled versus measured, in plain English
- Modelled values. NOAA's GEFS-Aerosols model gives PM2.5 on a grid of about 28 km. The Travel Live model lines average its eight 3-hour steps over the 24 hours from 4 Nov, 09:00 UTC to 5 Nov, 09:00 UTC (model run of 4 Nov, 00:00 UTC) and read the grid cell at each place. The model has a city-scale bias and cannot see local sources such as a single road, so it is an estimate for the area.
- Ranking. 361 places are ranked: the capitals of countries and territories with a Travel Live page, and the guide cities. A guide city that is also a capital uses the capital's more precise number.
- Against the WHO guideline. The ratio is the modelled value divided by 15 µg/m³, the 24-hour PM2.5 guideline value in the WHO global air quality guidelines of 2021. We say "times the guideline" and nothing more; the WHO and your local air-quality authority publish what the numbers mean for health.
- Measured values come straight from the network named beside each one and are never mixed into the modelled ranking.
Quick answers
- Which city has the worst air quality in the world today?
- Among the places we rank, the NOAA model has the highest PM2.5 for Delhi (India) at about 94 µg/m³, about 6.3 times the WHO 24-hour guideline. That is a modelled estimate over the 24 hours from 4 Nov, 09:00 UTC to 5 Nov, 09:00 UTC (model run of 4 Nov, 00:00 UTC), not a measurement, and it covers only the 361 capitals and guide cities we rank, not every city on Earth.
- What is the difference between modelled and measured air quality?
- A model such as NOAA GEFS-Aerosols calculates likely pollution from weather and emissions data on a grid of about 28 km. A measurement comes from an instrument at a fixed station. The two can differ a lot, which is why the measured readings on this page are kept in their own table and never mixed into the ranking.
- What is the WHO guideline for PM2.5?
- The WHO global air quality guidelines of 2021 give 15 µg/m³ as the 24-hour PM2.5 value. We only compare the model with that number; for what it means for your health, read the WHO and your local air-quality authority.
- What do Delhi's own monitoring stations show?
- Delhi's own network is shown in the measured table: Delhi's air quality index is 381 (Very Poor) on India's National AQI scale, from 59 of 60 CPCB monitoring stations, with PM2.5 the leading pollutant. That is 37 points higher than the same time yesterday. Pollution-control (GRAP) stage in force: Stage II (Very Poor). Highest station Punjabi Bagh 458, lowest IGNOU_Maidan Garhi 281. Latest 1-hour data 07:30 UTC. The model figure for the city is in the same row. The national index and a PM2.5 model mean are different measures and cannot be compared directly.
- How often is this air quality data updated?
- Each row states its time window or reading time. The modelled values are for the 24 hours from 4 Nov, 09:00 UTC to 5 Nov, 09:00 UTC (model run of 4 Nov, 00:00 UTC). Measured readings carry the publisher's own time stamp and, because some networks publish with a delay, may be older than the model window.
Sources and credits
- NOAA GEFS-Aerosols (NODD: open to the public and can be used as desired) via the Travel Live model lines: modelled PM2.5. Derived values; NOAA does not endorse this site.
- Measured readings: each publisher is named beside its reading (SMHI, Aarhus University, Defra UK-AIR, the Icelandic Environment and Energy Agency, Stadt Zürich, Japan's Ministry of the Environment, Singapore's National Environment Agency, Delhi Department of Environment), under the licence it states.
- WHO global air quality guidelines 2021: the 15 µg/m³ 24-hour PM2.5 value.
- The official source governs. This page gives no health advice; follow the guidance of the WHO and your local air-quality authority.