Houston air quality
Texas, United States · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 6:00 PM local time
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Kids, older adults and people with asthma or heart conditions should limit long outdoor exertion.
- Next 24 hours
- 58–113US AQI, highest around Sat 7:00 PM
- Best time outside
- Sun 5:00 AM–8:00 AMUS AQI about 58
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 1.0×15 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.7 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Moderatelevel 3 of 6
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Pollutants in Houston right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 11 µg/m³ | 1.0× | Moderate |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 13 µg/m³ | 0.4× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 7.0 µg/m³ | 0.6× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 119 µg/m³ | 1.4× | Moderate |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 3.9 µg/m³ | 0.1× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 148 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 0 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.23 | ||
| UV index | 0.3 |
“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 113 around Sat 7:00 PM, lowest 58 around Sun 6:00 AM.
5-day air quality forecast for Houston
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 | 54–113 | 15 | ||
| Sun, Sep 27 | 58–111 | 16 | ||
| Mon, Sep 28 | 61–124 | 15 | ||
| Tue, Sep 29 | 57–88 | 12 | ||
| Wed, Sep 30 | 37–56 | 6.7 |
Common questions about the air in Houston
Is the air in Houston safe today?
Not for sensitive groups. Right now the US AQI in Houston is 105, which counts as unhealthy for sensitive groups. Kids, older adults and people with asthma or heart conditions should limit long outdoor exertion.
When is the best time to be outside in Houston?
Sun 5:00 AM–8:00 AM. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 58. The worst hour is around Sat 7:00 PM, at 113.
What is the main pollutant in Houston?
Ozone (O3). It drives the index right now, at 119 µg/m³. Formed by sunlight acting on traffic and plant emissions. Highest on hot, still afternoons, often downwind of cities.
How does Houston's air compare with the WHO guideline?
About at the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 15 µg/m³, against the World Health Organization's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. O3 is forecast above its guideline level.
How many cigarettes is a day of Houston's air?
About 0.7 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 15 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Houston improve this week?
Wednesday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 56, against 124 on Monday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Houston
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Harvard Street AirNow, reference monitor | – | Sat 5:00 PM |
| Houston Finnigan Park C1099 AirNow, reference monitor | 7.4 | Sat 5:00 PM |
| Houston Park Place C416 AirNow, reference monitor | – | Sat 5:00 PM |
Air quality near Houston
- Dallas 362 km N
- Monterrey 665 km SW
- Atlanta 1,128 km NE
- Mexico City 1,210 km S
- Guadalajara 1,291 km SW
- Denver 1,414 km NW
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 29.76°N, 95.37°W, updated 2026-09-26 23:00 UTC.