Cities With the Highest PM2.5 Right Now
Riyadh has the most polluted air of any major city we track right now, with PM2.5 around 213.7 µg/m³.
Cities with at least 200,000 residents; 100 cities shown.
Top Cities Ranked by PM2.5
| # | City | Country | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | 288 | Very Unhealthy | 213.7 µg/m³ |
| 🥈 | Hanoi | Vietnam | 276 | Very Unhealthy | 201.2 µg/m³ |
| 🥉 | Beijing | China | 253 | Very Unhealthy | 178.3 µg/m³ |
| 4 | Chongqing | China | 211 | Very Unhealthy | 135.5 µg/m³ |
| 5 | Bandung | Indonesia | 197 | Unhealthy | 121.5 µg/m³ |
| 6 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 193 | Unhealthy | 115.5 µg/m³ |
| =7 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 193 | Unhealthy | 115.3 µg/m³ |
| =7 | Bekasi | Indonesia | 193 | Unhealthy | 115.3 µg/m³ |
| =7 | Depok | Indonesia | 193 | Unhealthy | 115.3 µg/m³ |
| =7 | South Tangerang | Indonesia | 193 | Unhealthy | 115.3 µg/m³ |
| 8 | Tianjin | China | 192 | Unhealthy | 113.6 µg/m³ |
| 9 | Kuwait City | Kuwait | 190 | Unhealthy | 110.8 µg/m³ |
| 10 | Baoding | China | 174 | Unhealthy | 88.7 µg/m³ |
| 11 | Shijiazhuang | China | 171 | Unhealthy | 83.6 µg/m³ |
| 12 | Chengdu | China | 170 | Unhealthy | 83.1 µg/m³ |
| 13 | Medan | Indonesia | 165 | Unhealthy | 75.0 µg/m³ |
| =14 | Kinshasa | Democratic Republic of Congo | 163 | Unhealthy | 73.3 µg/m³ |
| =14 | Brazzaville | Congo | 163 | Unhealthy | 73.3 µg/m³ |
| 15 | Tangshan | China | 161 | Unhealthy | 69.8 µg/m³ |
| 16 | Faisalabad | Pakistan | 160 | Unhealthy | 68.9 µg/m³ |
| 17 | Gujranwala | Pakistan | 160 | Unhealthy | 67.8 µg/m³ |
| 18 | Lahore | Pakistan | 159 | Unhealthy | 67.1 µg/m³ |
| 19 | Dammam | Saudi Arabia | 158 | Unhealthy | 65.2 µg/m³ |
| 20 | Saitama | Japan | 157 | Unhealthy | 63.8 µg/m³ |
| 21 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 157 | Unhealthy | 63.6 µg/m³ |
| =22 | Tokyo | Japan | 155 | Unhealthy | 60.5 µg/m³ |
| =22 | Yokohama | Japan | 155 | Unhealthy | 60.5 µg/m³ |
| =22 | Kawasaki | Japan | 155 | Unhealthy | 60.5 µg/m³ |
| 23 | Neijiang | China | 154 | Unhealthy | 60.3 µg/m³ |
| 24 | Rawalpindi | Pakistan | 153 | Unhealthy | 58.7 µg/m³ |
| 25 | Santiago | Chile | 153 | Unhealthy | 58.1 µg/m³ |
| 26 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | 151 | Unhealthy | 55.5 µg/m³ |
| 27 | Kananga | Democratic Republic of Congo | 147 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 54.0 µg/m³ |
| 28 | Ludhiāna | India | 142 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 52.2 µg/m³ |
| 29 | Baoji | China | 139 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 51.0 µg/m³ |
| 30 | Peshawar | Pakistan | 139 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 50.8 µg/m³ |
| 31 | Mianyang | China | 138 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 50.6 µg/m³ |
| 32 | Faridabad | India | 137 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 50.1 µg/m³ |
| 33 | Sharjah | United Arab Emirates | 134 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 48.8 µg/m³ |
| 34 | Lubumbashi | Democratic Republic of Congo | 133 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 48.5 µg/m³ |
| 35 | Xi’an | China | 131 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 47.6 µg/m³ |
| 36 | Singapore | Singapore | 128 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 46.4 µg/m³ |
| 37 | Kano | Nigeria | 126 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 45.5 µg/m³ |
| =38 | Jaipur | India | 123 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 44.6 µg/m³ |
| =38 | Luoyang | China | 123 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 44.6 µg/m³ |
| 39 | Zigong | China | 123 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 44.4 µg/m³ |
| =40 | Najafgarh | India | 121 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 43.8 µg/m³ |
| =40 | Medina | Saudi Arabia | 121 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 43.8 µg/m³ |
| 41 | Mecca | Saudi Arabia | 120 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 43.4 µg/m³ |
| 42 | Bayan Nur | China | 120 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 43.2 µg/m³ |
| =43 | Al Başrah al Qadīmah | Iraq | 119 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 42.8 µg/m³ |
| =43 | Basrah | Iraq | 119 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 42.8 µg/m³ |
| =44 | Ürümqi | China | 118 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 42.6 µg/m³ |
| =44 | Ürümqi | China | 118 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 42.6 µg/m³ |
| 45 | Lusaka | Zambia | 117 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 41.9 µg/m³ |
| 46 | Tehran | Iran | 117 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 41.8 µg/m³ |
| 47 | Delhi | India | 116 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 41.4 µg/m³ |
| 48 | Xuzhou | China | 115 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 41.0 µg/m³ |
| 49 | Mbuji-Mayi | Democratic Republic of Congo | 110 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 39.2 µg/m³ |
| 50 | Tangerang | Indonesia | 109 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 38.9 µg/m³ |
| 51 | Singapore | Singapore | 108 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 38.2 µg/m³ |
| 52 | Kathmandu | Nepal | 106 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 37.4 µg/m³ |
| 53 | Semarang | Indonesia | 105 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 37.0 µg/m³ |
| 54 | Shangqiu | China | 104 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 36.6 µg/m³ |
| 55 | Los Angeles | United States | 103 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 36.2 µg/m³ |
| 56 | Daqing | China | 102 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 35.9 µg/m³ |
| 57 | Doha | Qatar | 101 | Unhealthy (Sensitive) | 35.6 µg/m³ |
| 58 | Multan | Pakistan | 100 | Moderate | 35.3 µg/m³ |
| 59 | Jilin | China | 99 | Moderate | 35.0 µg/m³ |
| 60 | Kolkata | India | 99 | Moderate | 34.7 µg/m³ |
| 61 | Osaka | Japan | 98 | Moderate | 34.3 µg/m³ |
| 62 | Shiraz | Iran | 98 | Moderate | 34.1 µg/m³ |
| 63 | Kunming | China | 96 | Moderate | 33.3 µg/m³ |
| =64 | Lanzhou | China | 96 | Moderate | 33.1 µg/m³ |
| =64 | Meerut | India | 96 | Moderate | 33.1 µg/m³ |
| 65 | Datong | China | 94 | Moderate | 32.2 µg/m³ |
| 66 | Moscow | Russia | 93 | Moderate | 31.6 µg/m³ |
| 67 | Kallakurichi | India | 93 | Moderate | 31.5 µg/m³ |
| 68 | Muscat | Oman | 92 | Moderate | 31.2 µg/m³ |
| 69 | Ahmedabad | India | 91 | Moderate | 30.7 µg/m³ |
| 70 | Anshan | China | 89 | Moderate | 29.7 µg/m³ |
| 71 | Surabaya | Indonesia | 89 | Moderate | 29.5 µg/m³ |
| =72 | Mexico City | Mexico | 88 | Moderate | 29.0 µg/m³ |
| =72 | Ecatepec de Morelos | Mexico | 88 | Moderate | 29.0 µg/m³ |
| 73 | Heze | China | 87 | Moderate | 28.6 µg/m³ |
| 74 | Zhengzhou | China | 87 | Moderate | 28.5 µg/m³ |
| 75 | Khulna | Bangladesh | 87 | Moderate | 28.3 µg/m³ |
| 76 | Harbin | China | 86 | Moderate | 28.0 µg/m³ |
| 77 | Baotou | China | 85 | Moderate | 27.6 µg/m³ |
| 78 | Taipei | Taiwan | 85 | Moderate | 27.5 µg/m³ |
| 79 | Harare | Zimbabwe | 83 | Moderate | 26.3 µg/m³ |
| =80 | Casablanca | Morocco | 82 | Moderate | 26.0 µg/m³ |
| =80 | Makassar | Indonesia | 82 | Moderate | 26.0 µg/m³ |
| 81 | Luohe | China | 82 | Moderate | 25.8 µg/m³ |
| 82 | Liupanshui | China | 82 | Moderate | 25.7 µg/m³ |
| 83 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | 82 | Moderate | 25.5 µg/m³ |
| =84 | Beirut | Lebanon | 81 | Moderate | 25.4 µg/m³ |
| =84 | Ra’s Bayrūt | Lebanon | 81 | Moderate | 25.4 µg/m³ |
| 85 | Kaduna | Nigeria | 81 | Moderate | 25.1 µg/m³ |
| 86 | Shiyan | China | 81 | Moderate | 25.0 µg/m³ |
Methodology: Current pollutant concentrations are sampled from WeatherAPI for up to 400 large cities; US AQI values are calculated from PM2.5 using EPA breakpoints.
Why Are PM2.5 Levels So High in These Cities?
Air quality changes by the hour with traffic, industry, weather and the seasons. The most polluted cities at any moment are often those with heavy emissions trapped by still air or temperature inversions, or affected by dust storms and wildfire smoke. This list samples live PM2.5 readings across hundreds of large cities and updates through the day.
PM2.5, fine particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs, is the pollutant most closely tied to health, which is why we rank by it. Right now the worst air among the cities we track is in Riyadh, with PM2.5 around 213.7 µg/m³.
Frequently Asked Questions: Cities With the Highest PM2.5 Right Now
Which city has the worst air quality right now?
Among the cities we track, Riyadh has the highest PM2.5 right now, around 213.7 µg/m³ (as of September 3, 2026).
What is PM2.5?
PM2.5 is fine particulate matter under 2.5 microns across, small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs. It is the air pollutant most strongly linked to health effects.
Why does air quality change so quickly?
Pollution builds up and clears with traffic, industry and especially the weather. Still air and temperature inversions trap pollutants, while wind and rain wash them away.