Salt Lake City air quality
Utah, United States · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 6:00 PM local time
Moderate
Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
- Next 24 hours
- 65–69US AQI, highest around Sun 2:00 AM
- Best time outside
- Sun 12:00 PM–3:00 PMUS AQI about 65
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 1.1×17 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.8 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Moderatelevel 3 of 6
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Pollutants in Salt Lake City right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 14 µg/m³ | 1.1× | Moderate |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 53 µg/m³ | 1.7× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 2.3 µg/m³ | 0.6× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 104 µg/m³ | 1.0× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 0.8 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 130 µg/m³ | 0.0× | Good |
| Desert dust | 85 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.13 | ||
| UV index | 0.3 |
“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 69 around Sun 2:00 AM, lowest 60 around Mon 5:00 PM.
5-day air quality forecast for Salt Lake City
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 | 55–68 | 18 | ||
| Sun, Sep 27 | 65–69 | 17 | ||
| Mon, Sep 28 | 53–69 | 11 | ||
| Tue, Sep 29 | 52–56 | 12 | ||
| Wed, Sep 30 | 55–57 | 12 |
Common questions about the air in Salt Lake City
Is the air in Salt Lake City safe today?
For most people, yes. Right now the US AQI in Salt Lake City is 66, which counts as moderate. Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should ease off long, intense outdoor effort.
When is the best time to be outside in Salt Lake City?
Sun 12:00 PM–3:00 PM. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 65. The worst hour is around Sun 2:00 AM, at 69.
What is the main pollutant in Salt Lake City?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 14 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Salt Lake City's air compare with the WHO guideline?
1.1 times the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 17 µg/m³, against the World Health Organization's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. PM10 is also forecast above its guideline level.
How many cigarettes is a day of Salt Lake City's air?
About 0.8 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 17 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Salt Lake City improve this week?
Tuesday looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 56, against 69 on Sunday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Salt Lake City
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne AirNow, reference monitor | 5.6 | Sat 4:00 PM |
| Utah Tech. Center AirNow, reference monitor | 5.9 | Sat 4:00 PM |
| Rose Park AirNow, reference monitor | 6.1 | Sat 4:00 PM |
Air quality near Salt Lake City
- Las Vegas 583 km SW
- Denver 596 km E
- Phoenix 813 km S
- Fresno 817 km SW
- Sacramento 856 km W
- Los Angeles 933 km SW
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 40.76°N, 111.89°W, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.