Vancouver air quality
British Columbia, Canada · Live AQI and hourly forecast for the next 5 days · updated Sat 17:00 local time
Good
Great air. A perfect time to be outside.
- Next 24 hours
- 38–58US AQI, highest around Sun 10:00
- Best time outside
- Sat 19:00–22:00US AQI about 39
- PM2.5 vs WHO guideline
- 0.9×13 µg/m³ over 24 h, guideline 15
- Cigarette equivalent
- ≈ 0.6 a dayBerkeley Earth rule of thumb
- European AQI
- Fairlevel 2 of 6
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Pollutants in Vancouver right now
| Pollutant | Now | Next 24 h vs WHO | US AQI band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 6.7 µg/m³ | 0.9× | Good |
| Coarse particles (PM10) | 8.9 µg/m³ | 0.3× | Good |
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 11 µg/m³ | 0.9× | Good |
| Ozone (O3) | 70 µg/m³ | 0.7× | Good |
| Sulphur dioxide (SO2) | 6.6 µg/m³ | 0.2× | Good |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 158 µg/m³ | 0.1× | Good |
| Desert dust | 0 µg/m³ | ||
| Smoke and haze (aerosol optical depth) | 0.09 | ||
| UV index | 0.6 |
“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 76 around Mon 15:00, lowest 38 around Sat 20:00.
5-day air quality forecast for Vancouver
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 | 38–48 | 8.2 | ||
| Sun 27 Sept | 45–58 | 13 | ||
| Mon 28 Sept | 58–79 | 24 | ||
| Tue 29 Sept | 46–78 | 8.0 | ||
| Wed 30 Sept | 41–54 | 12 |
Common questions about the air in Vancouver
Is the air in Vancouver safe today?
Yes. Right now the US AQI in Vancouver is 43, which counts as good. Great air. A perfect time to be outside. It is expected to reach 58 (moderate) around Sun 10:00.
When is the best time to be outside in Vancouver?
Sat 19:00–22:00. That is the cleanest stretch in the next 24 hours, with the US AQI averaging about 39. The worst hour is around Sun 10:00, at 58.
What is the main pollutant in Vancouver?
Fine particles (PM2.5). It drives the index right now, at 6.7 µg/m³. Tiny particles from combustion, fires and dust that reach deep into the lungs. The main driver of AQI worldwide.
How does Vancouver's air compare with the WHO guideline?
Within the guideline. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 13 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 Vancouver's air?
About 0.6 cigarettes. Over the next 24 hours PM2.5 averages about 13 µg/m³. By Berkeley Earth's rule of thumb, 22 µg/m³ breathed for a day is roughly one cigarette.
Will air quality in Vancouver improve this week?
Today looks cleanest. Its AQI peaks at 48, against 79 on Monday, the worst day in the forecast.
Measured near Vancouver
| Station | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Vancouver AirNow, reference monitor | – | Sat 16:00 |
| Vancouver-Clark Drive AirNow, reference monitor | 3.0 | Sat 16:00 |
| Mahon Park AirNow, reference monitor | 2.9 | Sat 16:00 |
Air quality near Vancouver
- Seattle 195 km S
- Portland 420 km S
- Calgary 673 km E
- Edmonton 818 km NE
- Sacramento 1,197 km S
- San Francisco 1,281 km S
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 49.28°N, 123.12°W, updated 2026-09-27 00:00 UTC.