Denver air quality
Colorado, United States · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 6:00 PM local time
Good
Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
- Next 24 hours
- 42–50US AQI, highest around Sat 7:00 PM
- Best time outside
- Sat 11:00 PM–2:00 AMUS AQI about 42
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.6×8.7 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.4 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Moderatelevel 3 of 6
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Pollutants in Denver right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 5.4 µg/m³ | 0.6× | Good |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 9.6 µg/m³ | 0.2× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 4.8 µg/m³ | 0.7× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 101 µg/m³ | 1.0× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 0.5 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 159 µg/m³ | 0.1× | Good |
| Desert dust | 8 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.08 | ||
| UV index | 0.1 |
“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 50 around Sat 7:00 PM, lowest 30 around Mon 1:00 PM.
5-day air quality forecast for Denver
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Sep 26 | 42–53 | 7.5 | ||
| Sun, Sep 27 | 42–49 | 7.6 | ||
| Mon, Sep 28 | 30–45 | 8.8 | ||
| Tue, Sep 29 | 49–57 | 9.8 | ||
| Wed, Sep 30 | 48–53 | 11 |
Common questions about the air in Denver
Is the air in Denver safe today?
Yes. Right now the US AQI in Denver is 47, which counts as good. Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
When is the best time to be outside in Denver?
Sat 11:00 PM–2:00 AM. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 42. The worst hour is around Sat 7:00 PM, at 50.
What is the main pollutant in Denver?
Ozone (O3). It drives the index right now, at 101 µg/m³. Formed by sunlight acting on traffic and plant emissions. Highest on hot, still afternoons, often downwind of cities.
How does Denver's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 8.7 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 Denver's air?
About 0.4 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 8.7 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Denver improve this week?
Monday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 45, against 57 on Tuesday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Denver
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Denver - CAMP - 2105 Broadway AirNow, reference monitor | 2.8 | Sat 5:00 PM |
| I25 Denver AirNow, reference monitor | 2.8 | Sat 5:00 PM |
| Denver - NJH - 14th Ave. & Albion St. AirNow, reference monitor | 2.6 | Sat 5:00 PM |
Air quality near Denver
- Salt Lake City 596 km W
- Phoenix 942 km SW
- Las Vegas 974 km W
- Dallas 1,066 km SE
- Minneapolis 1,124 km NE
- Fresno 1,333 km W
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 39.74°N, 104.99°W, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.