Detroit air quality
Michigan, United States · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 8:00 PM local time
Good
Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
- Next 24 hours
- 28–42US AQI, highest around Sat 8:00 PM
- Best time outside
- Sun 1:00 PM–4:00 PMUS AQI about 29
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.3×4.4 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.2 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Fairlevel 2 of 6
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Pollutants in Detroit right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 6.7 µg/m³ | 0.3× | Good |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 6.8 µg/m³ | 0.1× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 22 µg/m³ | 0.6× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 59 µg/m³ | 0.8× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 2.1 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 192 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 0 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.07 | ||
| 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 42 around Sat 8:00 PM, lowest 21 around Mon 8:00 AM.
5-day air quality forecast for Detroit
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 | 36–54 | 6.1 | ||
| Sun, Sep 27 | 28–38 | 4.0 | ||
| Mon, Sep 28 | 21–36 | 5.1 | ||
| Tue, Sep 29 | 29–66 | 18 | ||
| Wed, Sep 30 | 58–67 | 13 |
Common questions about the air in Detroit
Is the air in Detroit safe today?
Yes. Right now the US AQI in Detroit is 42, which counts as good. Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
When is the best time to be outside in Detroit?
Sun 1:00 PM–4:00 PM. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 29. The worst hour is around Sat 8:00 PM, at 42.
What is the main pollutant in Detroit?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 6.7 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Detroit's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 4.4 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 Detroit's air?
About 0.2 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 4.4 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Detroit improve this week?
Monday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 36, against 67 on Wednesday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Detroit
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Windsor Downtown AirNow, reference monitor | 4.0 | Sat 6:00 PM |
| Detroit-DP4th AirNow, reference monitor | 3.8 | Sat 6:00 PM |
| Unnamed sensor Sensor.Community, low-cost sensor | 0.2 | Sat 7:49 PM |
Air quality near Detroit
- Toronto 332 km NE
- Chicago 381 km W
- Washington, D.C. 634 km SE
- Ottawa 682 km NE
- Philadelphia 711 km E
- New York 773 km E
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 42.33°N, 83.05°W, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.