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Kabul air quality

Afghanistan · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sun 03:30 local time

51

Moderate

US AQI, mostly PM2.5

Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.

Next 24 hours
47–88US AQI, highest around Sun 18:00
Best time outside
Mon 00:00–3:00US AQI about 48
PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
0.6×8.4 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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The live globe, centred on Kabul. Switch pollutants, drag through the next 5 days or press play. Full map →

Pollutants in Kabul right now

PollutantNowNext 24 h vs WHOUS AQI band
Fine particles (PM2.5) 10 µg/m³ 0.6× Moderate
Coarse particles (PM10) 25 µg/m³ 0.4× Good
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 9.7 µg/m³ 0.3× Good
Ozone (O3) 69 µg/m³ 1.3× Good
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) 7.0 µg/m³ 0.2× Good
Carbon monoxide (CO) 258 µg/m³ 0.1× Good
Desert dust31 µg/m³
Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth)0.09
UV index0.0

“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 90 around Mon 18:00, lowest 43 around Mon 10:00.

Good 0–50Moderate 51–100Sensitive 101–150Unhealthy 151–200Very unhealthy 201–300Hazardous 301+

5-day air quality forecast for Kabul

Daily range of the hourly US AQI, from lowest to highest, on a scale of 0 to 150.

DayUS AQIAt worstWorst hourPM2.5 avgUV max
Sun 27 Sept 48–88 Moderate 18:00 8.6 8.6
Mon 28 Sept 43–90 Moderate 18:00 10.0 8.4
Tue 29 Sept 52–107 Sensitive 18:00 17 7.7
Wed 30 Sept 66–104 Sensitive 18:00 19 8.0
Thu 1 Oct 64–90 Moderate 17:00 15 7.3

Common questions about the air in Kabul

  1. Is the air in Kabul safe today?

    For most people, yes. Right now the US AQI in Kabul is 51, which counts as moderate. Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.

  2. When is the best time to be outside in Kabul?

    Mon 00:00–3:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 48. The worst hour is around Sun 18:00, at 88.

  3. What is the main pollutant in Kabul?

    Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 10 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.

  4. How does Kabul's air compare with the WHO guideline?

    Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 8.4 µg/m³, against the World Health Organization's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. O3 is forecast above its guideline level.

  5. How many cigarettes is a day of Kabul's air?

    About 0.4 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 8.4 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.

  6. Will air quality in Kabul improve this week?

    Today looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 88, against 107 on Tuesday, the worst day in the forecast.

Air quality near Kabul

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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 34.56°N, 69.21°E, updated 2026-09-26 23:00 UTC.