Lima air quality
Peru · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 18:00 local time
Moderate
Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
- Next 24 hours
- 54–58US AQI, highest around Sat 18:00
- Best time outside
- Sun 07:00–10:00US AQI about 54
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.7×11 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.5 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Fairlevel 2 of 6
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Pollutants in Lima right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 15 µg/m³ | 0.7× | Moderate |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 45 µg/m³ | 0.7× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 9.8 µg/m³ | 0.3× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 69 µg/m³ | 0.8× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 4.4 µg/m³ | 0.1× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 227 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 54 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.24 | ||
| 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 58 around Sat 18:00, lowest 54 around Sun 07:00.
5-day air quality forecast for Lima
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 26 Sept | 57–61 | 12 | ||
| Sun 27 Sept | 54–56 | 11 | ||
| Mon 28 Sept | 54–56 | 12 | ||
| Tue 29 Sept | 53–55 | 11 | ||
| Wed 30 Sept | 54–58 | 13 |
Common questions about the air in Lima
Is the air in Lima safe today?
For most people, yes. Right now the US AQI in Lima is 58, which counts as moderate. Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
When is the best time to be outside in Lima?
Sun 07:00–10:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 54. The worst hour is around Sat 18:00, at 58.
What is the main pollutant in Lima?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 15 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Lima's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 11 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 Lima's air?
About 0.5 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 11 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Lima improve this week?
Tuesday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 55, against 61 on Saturday, the worst day in the forecast.
Air quality near Lima
- La Paz 1,081 km SE
- Quito 1,329 km N
- Bogotá 1,892 km N
- Medellín 2,040 km N
- Santiago 2,466 km S
- Caracas 2,744 km NE
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 12.05°S, 77.04°W, updated 2026-09-26 23:00 UTC.