Dakar air quality
Senegal · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sun 00:00 local time
Moderate
Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
- Next 24 hours
- 45–54US AQI, highest around Sun 00:00
- Best time outside
- Sun 21:00–0:00US AQI about 46
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.5×7.9 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.4 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Fairlevel 2 of 6
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Pollutants in Dakar right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 9.4 µg/m³ | 0.5× | Moderate |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 16 µg/m³ | 0.3× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 1.3 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 47 µg/m³ | 0.5× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 1.3 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 150 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 54 around Sun 00:00, lowest 23 around Mon 23:00.
5-day air quality forecast for Dakar
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 | 45–54 | 7.9 | ||
| Mon 28 Sept | 23–44 | 4.1 | ||
| Tue 29 Sept | 19–23 | 3.4 | ||
| Wed 30 Sept | 20–41 | 8.1 | ||
| Thu 1 Oct | 45–61 | 18 |
Common questions about the air in Dakar
Is the air in Dakar safe today?
For most people, yes. Right now the US AQI in Dakar is 54, which counts as moderate. Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
When is the best time to be outside in Dakar?
Sun 21:00–0:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 46. The worst hour is around Sun 00:00, at 54.
What is the main pollutant in Dakar?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 9.4 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Dakar's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 7.9 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 Dakar's air?
About 0.4 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 7.9 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Dakar improve this week?
Tuesday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 23, against 61 on Thursday, the worst day in the forecast.
Air quality near Dakar
- Accra 2,144 km SE
- Casablanca 2,321 km NE
- Lagos 2,451 km E
- Abuja 2,775 km E
- Lisbon 2,791 km N
- Madrid 3,154 km N
About this forecast
Forecast from CAMS 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 14.72°N, 17.47°W, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.