Global Air Quality Update - Week of May 11, 2026

Live data snapshot for May 11, 2026. 217 cities tracked. Global average AQI: 72.

This week's most polluted city is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at AQI 1001. The cleanest air right now is in La Paz, Bolivia at AQI 12.

Biggest changes this week

Worsening

• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 600 → 1001 AQI (+401)
• Kuwait City, Kuwait: 124 → 165 AQI (+41)
• Lahore, Pakistan: 129 → 164 AQI (+35)
• Faisalabad, Pakistan: 137 → 156 AQI (+19)
• Jakarta, Indonesia: 159 → 171 AQI (+12)

Improving

• Delhi, India: 496 → 166 AQI (-330)
• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: 1022 → 880 AQI (-142)
• Kanpur, India: 190 → 127 AQI (-63)
• Jaipur, India: 178 → 169 AQI (-9)
• Brasilia, Brazil: 26 → 17 AQI (-9)

Global average shifted from 67 to 72 (+5).

Top 10 most polluted cities right now

1. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - AQI 1001 (PM2.5 108 μg/m³)
2. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - AQI 880 (PM2.5 153.7 μg/m³)
3. Guangzhou, China - AQI 190 (PM2.5 41.6 μg/m³)
4. Jakarta, Indonesia - AQI 171 (PM2.5 65.4 μg/m³)
5. Jaipur, India - AQI 169 (PM2.5 51 μg/m³)
6. Delhi, India - AQI 166 (PM2.5 97.6 μg/m³)
7. Kuwait City, Kuwait - AQI 165 (PM2.5 47.8 μg/m³)
8. Lahore, Pakistan - AQI 164 (PM2.5 102 μg/m³)
9. Hanoi, Vietnam - AQI 164 (PM2.5 37.6 μg/m³)
10. Bandung, Indonesia - AQI 162 (PM2.5 46.6 μg/m³)

Top 10 cleanest cities right now

1. La Paz, Bolivia - AQI 12 (PM2.5 7.5 μg/m³)
2. Buenos Aires, Argentina - AQI 17 (PM2.5 4.6 μg/m³)
3. Brasilia, Brazil - AQI 17 (PM2.5 6.1 μg/m³)
4. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - AQI 19 (PM2.5 2.5 μg/m³)
5. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea - AQI 19 (PM2.5 4.3 μg/m³)
6. Madrid, Spain - AQI 20 (PM2.5 4.1 μg/m³)
7. Abidjan, Ivory Coast - AQI 20 (PM2.5 5.2 μg/m³)
8. Barcelona, Spain - AQI 20 (PM2.5 3.9 μg/m³)
9. Fortaleza, Brazil - AQI 20 (PM2.5 1.4 μg/m³)
10. Helsinki, Finland - AQI 21 (PM2.5 4.6 μg/m³)

What is AQI?

AQI (Air Quality Index) is a 0-500 scale used by the US EPA. Below 50 is good, above 150 unhealthy, above 300 hazardous. Most damage comes from PM2.5 - fine particles that enter the bloodstream. Learn more: PM2.5 explained.

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Data: live readings refreshed every 30 minutes by atmos.today. See methodology and attribution.