Phoenix air quality
Arizona, United States · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 4:00 PM local time
Moderate
Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
- Next 24 hours
- 58–68US AQI, highest around Sat 7:00 PM
- Best time outside
- Sat 10:00 PM–1:00 AMUS AQI about 58
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 1.0×15 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.7 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Moderatelevel 3 of 6
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Pollutants in Phoenix right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 7.8 µg/m³ | 1.0× | Good |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 18 µg/m³ | 0.5× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 1.5 µg/m³ | 0.8× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 119 µg/m³ | 1.0× | Moderate |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 0.6 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 117 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 18 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.08 | ||
| UV index | 1.6 |
“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 68 around Sat 7:00 PM, lowest 51 around Mon 11:00 AM.
5-day air quality forecast for Phoenix
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 | 57–68 | 13 | ||
| Sun, Sep 27 | 58–62 | 14 | ||
| Mon, Sep 28 | 50–60 | 9.0 | ||
| Tue, Sep 29 | 36–50 | 6.3 | ||
| Wed, Sep 30 | 32–48 | 8.8 |
Common questions about the air in Phoenix
Is the air in Phoenix safe today?
For most people, yes. Right now the US AQI in Phoenix is 59, which counts as moderate. Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
When is the best time to be outside in Phoenix?
Sat 10:00 PM–1:00 AM. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 58. The worst hour is around Sat 7:00 PM, at 68.
What is the main pollutant in Phoenix?
Ozone (O3). It drives the index right now, at 119 µg/m³. Formed by sunlight acting on traffic and plant emissions. Highest on hot, still afternoons, often downwind of cities.
How does Phoenix's air compare with the WHO guideline?
About at the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 15 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 Phoenix's air?
About 0.7 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 15 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Phoenix improve this week?
Wednesday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 48, against 68 on Saturday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Phoenix
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Central Phoenix AirNow, reference monitor | – | Sat 3:00 PM |
| Durango Complex AirNow, reference monitor | 5.6 | Sat 3:00 PM |
| South Phoenix AirNow, reference monitor | 5.8 | Sat 3:00 PM |
Air quality near Phoenix
- Las Vegas 412 km NW
- San Diego 481 km W
- Los Angeles 574 km W
- Fresno 791 km NW
- Salt Lake City 813 km N
- Denver 942 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 33.45°N, 112.07°W, updated 2026-09-26 23:00 UTC.