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May 18, 2026

Global Air Quality Update - Week of May 18, 2026

Live data snapshot for May 18, 2026. 217 cities tracked. Global average AQI: 80.

This week's most polluted city is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at AQI 1642. The cleanest air right now is in La Paz, Bolivia at AQI 11.

Biggest changes this week

Worsening

Improving

Global average shifted from 72 to 80 (+8).

Top 10 most polluted cities right now

  1. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - AQI 1642 (PM2.5 176 μg/m³)
  2. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - AQI 1603 (PM2.5 424.7 μg/m³)
  3. Delhi, India - AQI 731 (PM2.5 86.6 μg/m³)
  4. Kanpur, India - AQI 286 (PM2.5 99.9 μg/m³)
  5. Kuwait City, Kuwait - AQI 246 (PM2.5 76.4 μg/m³)
  6. Daegu, South Korea - AQI 201 (PM2.5 8.7 μg/m³)
  7. Fukuoka, Japan - AQI 190 (PM2.5 7.3 μg/m³)
  8. Osaka, Japan - AQI 181 (PM2.5 15.5 μg/m³)
  9. Nagoya, Japan - AQI 174 (PM2.5 16.4 μg/m³)
  10. Kyoto, Japan - AQI 172 (PM2.5 14.2 μg/m³)

Top 10 cleanest cities right now

  1. La Paz, Bolivia - AQI 11 (PM2.5 0.4 μg/m³)
  2. Manaus, Brazil - AQI 12 (PM2.5 2.2 μg/m³)
  3. Montreal, Canada - AQI 16 (PM2.5 3.3 μg/m³)
  4. Quito, Ecuador - AQI 18 (PM2.5 3.8 μg/m³)
  5. Fortaleza, Brazil - AQI 18 (PM2.5 3.5 μg/m³)
  6. Madrid, Spain - AQI 19 (PM2.5 7.4 μg/m³)
  7. Auckland, New Zealand - AQI 19 (PM2.5 4.3 μg/m³)
  8. Cali, Colombia - AQI 20 (PM2.5 3.7 μg/m³)
  9. Antananarivo, Madagascar - AQI 21 (PM2.5 3.4 μg/m³)
  10. Asuncion, Paraguay - AQI 21 (PM2.5 2.2 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.