Air quality in Johannesburg

Air quality index (AQI) and PM2.5 air pollution in Johannesburg

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AIR QUALITY DATA CONTRIBUTORS

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South African Air Quality Information System

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Weather

What is the current weather in Johannesburg?

Weather icon
WeatherClear sky
Temperature69.8°F
Humidity65%
Wind3 mp/h
Pressure30.2 Hg
Air pollution has cost an estimated660 deaths*in Johannesburg in 2024Find out more*Air pollution also cost approximately $270,000,000 USD in Johannesburg in 2024.

live aqi city ranking

Real-time South Africa city ranking

#cityUS AQI
1 Vereeniging, Gauteng

58

2 Lephalale, Limpopo

55

3 Middelburg, Mpumalanga

55

4 eMbalenhle, Mpumalanga

53

5 Midstream, Gauteng

50

6 KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu-Natal

35

7 Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape

29

(local time)

SEE WORLD AQI RANKING

live Johannesburg aqi ranking

Real-time Johannesburg air quality ranking

#stationUS AQI
1 Diepkloof

38

(local time)

SEE WORLD AQI RANKING

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US AQI

38

live AQI index
Good

Human face indicating AQI level

Overview

What is the current air quality in Johannesburg?

Air pollution levelAir quality indexMain pollutant
Good 38 US AQIPM2.5
PollutantsConcentration
PM2.5
9.3µg/m³
PM10
32.3µg/m³
O3
7.6µg/m³
NO2
25.8µg/m³
SO2
6.4µg/m³
CO
561.1µg/m³
!

PM2.5

x1.9

PM2.5 concentration in Johannesburg is currently 1.9 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value

Health Recommendations

What is the current air quality in Johannesburg?

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Forecast

Johannesburg air quality index (AQI) forecast

DayPollution levelWeatherTemperatureWind
Tuesday, Mar 26

Good 49 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon
78.8° 59°
Wind rotating 68 degree 6.7 mp/h
Wednesday, Mar 27

Moderate 61 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon
80.6° 60.8°
Wind rotating 171 degree 6.7 mp/h
Thursday, Mar 28

Moderate 55 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon
73.4° 60.8°
Wind rotating 227 degree 6.7 mp/h
Today

Good 38 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon
80.6° 60.8°
Wind rotating 43 degree 8.9 mp/h
Saturday, Mar 30

Unhealthy for sensitive groups 130 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon
75.2° 59°
Wind rotating 7 degree 11.2 mp/h
Sunday, Mar 31

Unhealthy for sensitive groups 105 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon 40%
78.8° 59°
Wind rotating 17 degree 11.2 mp/h
Monday, Apr 1

Moderate 74 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon 40%
80.6° 62.6°
Wind rotating 339 degree 4.5 mp/h
Tuesday, Apr 2

Moderate 74 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon 30%
80.6° 64.4°
Wind rotating 312 degree 6.7 mp/h
Wednesday, Apr 3

Moderate 72 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon
82.4° 66.2°
Wind rotating 15 degree 8.9 mp/h
Thursday, Apr 4

Moderate 88 AQI US

Human face indicating AQI level
Weather icon 60%
77° 62.6°
Wind rotating 26 degree 8.9 mp/h

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AIR QUALITY ANALYSIS AND STATISTICS FOR Johannesburg

How clean is the air in Johannesburg, South Africa?

Johannesburg, informally known as Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, and is classified as a megacity. It is one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world. The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills and is the centre of the large-scale gold and diamond trade. In 2019 the estimated population was just over 5 million people for the city and twice that for the metro area.

In the second quarter of 2021, Johannesburg was experiencing a period of “Moderate” quality air with a US AQI reading of 87. This is in accordance with recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The recorded levels of pollutants were as follows: PM2.5 - 29.4 µg/m³, PM10 - 47 µg/m³, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - 30.9 µg/m³ and sulphur dioxide (SO2) - 7.5 µg/m³. With concentrations at these levels, you are advised to close doors and windows to prevent more polluted air from entering the house. And those of a sensitive disposition should avoid all types of outdoor activity until the air quality improves considerably.

Is the quality of air consistent throughout the year?

Looking back at historic figures from previous years, it can be seen that the air quality in Johannesburg is of “Moderate” quality for about 10 months of the year. This means that the recorded figures are between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. In 2020, only June and July recorded worse figures of between 35.5 and 55.4 µg/m³ which classified it as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups”.

Figures were recorded from 2019 with an average annual result of 25.3 µg/m³ and showed a slight improvement in 2020 with a mean figure of 22.3 µg/m³.

The air quality not only differs from month to month, but it can change daily, depending on the weather conditions and other factors. By glancing at the table published on the IQAir website (at the top of this page), the quality can be seen to change from day to day.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Johannesburg?

As far back as 2015, the technology company, IBM proposed forming a partnership with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CISR) and the City of Johannesburg (COJ) to help tackle the problem of air pollution. Advanced technology such as the IoT (Internet Of Things) could be used to predict the repercussions of certain measures. Information from several sources including the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane and the Vaal Industrial Triangle will be analysed and computer-generated forecasts made as to what would happen under certain circumstances.

IBM's advanced decision analytics together with IoT technologies, combined with cognitive computing to both ingest and learn from the huge amounts of “big data”, will help to create precise air pollution forecasting systems for the city. One major problem to overcome is the variety of sources of pollutant emissions, like those from vehicles, domestic fuel burning, veld fires, volatile organic compounds from trees and others that can lead to high levels of air pollution.

What causes the air to be polluted?

Air pollution has various sources, but most of the pollutants come from incomplete combustion processes in road traffic, industrial plants and power stations, and from private households. Particulate matter, which is defined as particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5), is considered to be the greatest problem to health because of its microscopic size.

At the same time, methane and ozone also have an impact on climate change. Reducing them is therefore beneficial not only for people’s health but also for climate change mitigation.

It is reported that one of the main problems facing Johannesburg is the fact that it used to be a mining town as is still surrounded by the dumping grounds the mines created. The other problem it caused was that many more people than were intended came to settle in the area which resulted in a huge increase in traffic volume and the problems associated with that.

How poor is the air quality in Johannesburg?

For the four million people in Johannesburg, their air means people die three years earlier than they would if they were living in Cape Town and breathing their cleaner air. For at least 50 per cent of the time, the air in Johannesburg is unsafe. This is due to a mixture of dust blown into the city, exhaust fumes from the nearly five million vehicles in Gauteng, fires in homes, and pollution from small industries and power stations.

Using pollution measurements from satellites, researchers have concluded that the air in Johannesburg is the worst in the country and costs people 3.23 years of their life. The second-worst place was Sedibeng district municipality, which is slightly south of Johannesburg, which includes an area where heavily polluting industries such as Sasol and ArcelorMittal are located. People in the Tshwane metro municipality which is north of Johannesburg, lose 2.82 years of their life through living in the city.

By contrast, the air in Cape Town is thought to be 90 per cent better than Johannesburg and does not detract from the average lifespan.

What impact does Johannesburg’s poor quality air have on our health?

In several of South Africa’s major cities, the air is often so polluted that it is killing them. Everybody is affected by this as we all have to breathe. It is estimated that the poor air quality in Johannesburg is robbing the lives of 54 people every day!

The data on what exactly is in the air has long been a secret between the regulators and those responsible for the emissions. However, this is not now the case. There is an established website (saaqis.environment.gov.za) where all information is now readily available for all to see. There is also an app that can be downloaded to a suitable smartphone for information “on-the-go”.

Children are particularly susceptible as they breathe faster than adults and are often more active. After a period of heavy exertion, the particles lodge deeply in the lungs. Any pollutants which are carried by the particles soon break away and start to poison the new host.

Johannesburg air quality data attribution

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