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Kinshasa air quality

DR Congo · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sun 00:00 local time

114

Unhealthy for sensitive groups

US AQI, mostly PM2.5

Kids, older adults and people with asthma or heart conditions should limit long outdoor exertion.

Next 24 hours
114–119US AQI, highest around Sun 20:00
Best time outside
Sun 03:00–6:00US AQI about 114
PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
2.8×43 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
Cigarette equivalent
≈ 1.9 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
European AQI
Moderatelevel 3 of 6

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The live globe, centred on Kinshasa. Switch pollutants, drag through the next 5 days or press play. Full map →

Pollutants in Kinshasa right now

PollutantNowNext 24 h vs WHOUS AQI band
Fine particles (PM2.5) 48 µg/m³ 2.8× Sensitive
Coarse particles (PM10) 51 µg/m³ 1.0× Good
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 6.5 µg/m³ 0.2× Good
Ozone (O3) 79 µg/m³ 1.2× Good
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) 1.9 µg/m³ 0.0× Good
Carbon monoxide (CO) 547 µg/m³ 0.1× Good
Desert dust0 µg/m³
Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth)1.02
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 119 around Sun 20:00, lowest 109 around Mon 19:00.

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

5-day air quality forecast for Kinshasa

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 114–119 Sensitive 20:00 43 4.9
Mon 28 Sept 109–118 Sensitive 0:00 41 9.1
Tue 29 Sept 115–121 Sensitive 3:00 44 3.8
Wed 30 Sept 121–139 Sensitive 15:00 47 7.0
Thu 1 Oct 127–147 Sensitive 12:00 57 5.2

Common questions about the air in Kinshasa

  1. Is the air in Kinshasa safe today?

    Not for sensitive groups. Right now the US AQI in Kinshasa is 114, which counts as unhealthy for sensitive groups. Kids, older adults and people with asthma or heart conditions should limit long outdoor exertion.

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

    Sun 03:00–6:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 114. The worst hour is around Sun 20:00, at 119.

  3. What is the main pollutant in Kinshasa?

    Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 48 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.

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

    2.8 times the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 43 µg/m³, against the World Health Organization's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. O3 is also forecast above its guideline level.

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

    About 1.9 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 43 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 Kinshasa improve this week?

    Monday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 118, against 147 on Thursday, the worst day in the forecast.

Air quality near Kinshasa

All 161 cities

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 4.44°S, 15.27°E, updated 2026-09-26 23:00 UTC.