Bucharest air quality
Romania · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sun 02:00 local time
Good
Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
- Next 24 hours
- 28–34US AQI, highest around Sun 19:00
- Best time outside
- Sun 10:00–13:00US AQI about 29
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.4×5.8 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.3 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Fairlevel 2 of 6
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Pollutants in Bucharest right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 5.8 µg/m³ | 0.4× | Good |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 7.8 µg/m³ | 0.2× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 6.8 µg/m³ | 0.2× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 39 µg/m³ | 0.7× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 0.9 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 194 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 0 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.15 | ||
| UV index | 0.0 |
“Next 24 h vs WHO” compares the forecast with the World Health Organization’s 2021 guideline levels: 24-hour means of 15 µg/m³ for PM2.5, 45 for PM10, 25 for NO2, 40 for SO2 and 4 mg/m³ for CO, and 100 µg/m³ over 8 hours for ozone. Above 1× is above the guideline.
Next 48 hours
Hourly US AQI. Highest 38 around Mon 20:00, lowest 28 around Sun 12:00.
5-day air quality forecast for Bucharest
Daily range of the hourly US AQI, from lowest to highest, on a scale of 0 to 150.
| Day | US AQI | At worst | PM2.5 avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 27 Sept | 28–34 | 5.7 | ||
| Mon 28 Sept | 32–38 | 6.6 | ||
| Tue 29 Sept | 36–38 | 6.5 | ||
| Wed 30 Sept | 31–41 | 5.3 | ||
| Thu 1 Oct | 29–37 | 4.8 |
Common questions about the air in Bucharest
Is the air in Bucharest safe today?
Yes. Right now the US AQI in Bucharest is 30, which counts as good. Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
When is the best time to be outside in Bucharest?
Sun 10:00–13:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 29. The worst hour is around Sun 19:00, at 34.
What is the main pollutant in Bucharest?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 5.8 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Bucharest's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 5.8 µg/m³, against the World Health Organization's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. The other pollutants stay within their guideline levels.
How many cigarettes is a day of Bucharest's air?
About 0.3 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 5.8 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Bucharest improve this week?
Today looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 34, against 41 on Wednesday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Bucharest
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Unnamed sensor Sensor.Community, low-cost sensor | 1.9 | Sun 02:49 |
| Unnamed sensor Sensor.Community, low-cost sensor | 3.7 | Sun 02:47 |
| Unnamed sensor Sensor.Community, low-cost sensor | 12 | Sun 02:48 |
Air quality near Bucharest
- Sofia 295 km SW
- Istanbul 447 km SE
- Belgrade 449 km W
- Skopje 465 km SW
- Sarajevo 617 km W
- Budapest 644 km NW
About this forecast
Forecast from CAMS Europe and global via Open-Meteo: the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) model at about 40 km resolution (10 km inside Europe), refreshed twice a day. Models smooth out street-level peaks, so busy roads and industrial sites can be worse than shown; ground stations, where there are any nearby, show what monitors actually measure. The US AQI follows the US EPA scale and the European AQI the EEA bands. Readings for 44.43°N, 26.10°E, updated 2026-09-26 23:00 UTC.