New York air quality
United States · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 8:00 PM local time
Good
Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
- Next 24 hours
- 27–33US AQI, highest around Sat 8:00 PM
- Best time outside
- Sun 3:00 PM–6:00 PMUS AQI about 27
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.3×3.8 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 New York right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 2.6 µg/m³ | 0.3× | Good |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 2.6 µg/m³ | 0.1× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 8.2 µg/m³ | 0.4× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 69 µg/m³ | 0.7× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 0.6 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 135 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 0 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.06 | ||
| 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 37 around Mon 12:00 PM, lowest 25 around Sun 9:00 PM.
5-day air quality forecast for New York
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 | 32–36 | 4.7 | ||
| Sun, Sep 27 | 25–33 | 5.1 | ||
| Mon, Sep 28 | 28–37 | 6.5 | ||
| Tue, Sep 29 | 36–61 | 16 | ||
| Wed, Sep 30 | 63–95 | 32 |
Common questions about the air in New York
Is the air in New York safe today?
Yes. Right now the US AQI in New York is 33, which counts as good. Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
When is the best time to be outside in New York?
Sun 3:00 PM–6:00 PM. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 27. The worst hour is around Sat 8:00 PM, at 33.
What is the main pollutant in New York?
Ozone (O3). It drives the index right now, at 69 µg/m³. Formed by sunlight acting on traffic and plant emissions. Highest on hot, still afternoons, often downwind of cities.
How does New York's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 3.8 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 New York's air?
About 0.2 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 3.8 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in New York improve this week?
Sunday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 33, against 95 on Wednesday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near New York
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Jersey City FH AirNow, reference monitor | 7.6 | Sat 6:00 PM |
| Jersey City AirNow, reference monitor | – | Sat 6:00 PM |
| Bklyn - PS274 AirNow, reference monitor | 4.0 | Sat 6:00 PM |
Air quality near New York
- Philadelphia 130 km SW
- Boston 306 km NE
- Washington, D.C. 328 km SW
- Montreal 534 km N
- Ottawa 541 km N
- Toronto 550 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 40.71°N, 74.01°W, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.