Manchester air quality
United Kingdom · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sun 01:00 local time
Good
Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
- Next 24 hours
- 29–33US AQI, highest around Sun 01:00
- Best time outside
- Sun 05:00–8:00US AQI about 30
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.3×5.2 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 Manchester right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 6.8 µg/m³ | 0.3× | Good |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 12 µg/m³ | 0.2× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 21 µg/m³ | 0.4× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 36 µg/m³ | 0.6× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 1.0 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 201 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 0 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.09 | ||
| 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 33 around Sun 01:00, lowest 28 around Mon 02:00.
5-day air quality forecast for Manchester
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 27 Sept | 30–34 | 5.3 | ||
| Mon 28 Sept | 28–32 | 6.0 | ||
| Tue 29 Sept | 30–36 | 5.7 | ||
| Wed 30 Sept | 32–35 | 5.7 | ||
| Thu 1 Oct | 27–32 | 4.6 |
Common questions about the air in Manchester
Is the air in Manchester safe today?
Yes. Right now the US AQI in Manchester is 33, which counts as good. Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
When is the best time to be outside in Manchester?
Sun 05:00–8:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 30. The worst hour is around Sun 01:00, at 33.
What is the main pollutant in Manchester?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 6.8 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Manchester's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 5.2 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 Manchester's air?
About 0.2 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 5.2 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Manchester improve this week?
Monday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 32, against 36 on Tuesday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Manchester
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Unnamed sensor Sensor.Community, low-cost sensor | 3.7 | Sun 00:47 |
| Unnamed sensor Sensor.Community, low-cost sensor | 3.5 | Sun 00:48 |
| Unnamed sensor Sensor.Community, low-cost sensor | 2.2 | Sun 00:48 |
Air quality near Manchester
- London 262 km SE
- Dublin 267 km W
- Edinburgh 282 km N
- Amsterdam 495 km E
- Brussels 536 km SE
- Paris 606 km SE
About this forecast
Forecast from CAMS Europe and 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 53.48°N, 2.24°W, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.