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AIR QUALITY DATA CONTRIBUTORS
Find out more about contributors and data sourcesIndex | None | ||
Tree pollen | None | ||
Grass pollen | None | ||
Weed pollen | None |
Weather | Broken clouds |
Temperature | 44.6°F |
Humidity | 66% |
Wind | 18.4 mp/h |
Pressure | 30.3 Hg |
# | city | US AQI |
---|---|---|
1 | Armidale, New South Wales | 112 |
2 | Bathurst, New South Wales | 85 |
3 | Newcastle, New South Wales | 69 |
4 | Branxton, New South Wales | 68 |
5 | Singleton, New South Wales | 65 |
6 | Spencer Gulf, South Australia | 63 |
7 | Central Coast, New South Wales | 55 |
8 | Sydney, New South Wales | 49 |
9 | Orange, New South Wales | 48 |
10 | Millthorpe, New South Wales | 45 |
(local time)
SEE WORLD AQI RANKING# | station | US AQI |
---|---|---|
1 | Monash | 46 |
2 | Florey | 39 |
3 | Civic | 31 |
4 | Somerville Street | 17 |
5 | Giralang West | 16 |
6 | Grainger Circuit | 15 |
7 | Limestone Avenue | 15 |
8 | Theodore | 15 |
9 | Melba near shops | 14 |
10 | Clive Steele Avenue | 13 |
(local time)
SEE WORLD AQI RANKINGUS AQI
20
live AQI index
Good
Air pollution level | Air quality index | Main pollutant |
---|---|---|
Good | 20 US AQI | O3 |
Pollutants | Concentration | |
---|---|---|
PM2.5 | 2.4Âľg/mÂł | |
PM10 | 13.9Âľg/mÂł | |
O3 | 48Âľg/mÂł | |
NO2 | 10.3Âľg/mÂł | |
CO | 225Âľg/mÂł |
PM2.5 concentration in Canberra air currently meets the WHO annual air quality guideline value
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Day | Pollution level | Weather | Temperature | Wind |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday, May 15 | Good 44 AQI US | 62.6° 42.8° | 6.7 mp/h | |
Thursday, May 16 | Moderate 52 AQI US | 62.6° 42.8° | 2.2 mp/h | |
Friday, May 17 | Good 40 AQI US | 64.4° 42.8° | 6.7 mp/h | |
Today | Good 20 AQI US | 64.4° 42.8° | 6.7 mp/h | |
Sunday, May 19 | Good 6 AQI US | 46.4° 33.8° | 13.4 mp/h | |
Monday, May 20 | Good 11 AQI US | 53.6° 32° | 4.5 mp/h | |
Tuesday, May 21 | Good 8 AQI US | 57.2° 35.6° | 6.7 mp/h | |
Wednesday, May 22 | Good 7 AQI US | 57.2° 35.6° | 4.5 mp/h | |
Thursday, May 23 | Good 31 AQI US | 57.2° 35.6° | 2.2 mp/h | |
Friday, May 24 | Good 50 AQI US | 59° 37.4° | 2.2 mp/h |
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In general, Australian cities experience relatively healthy air quality year-round by global comparison. However, Australiaâs annual seasonal bushfires during the warmer summer months have long punctuated the countryâs usually clean air quality, with short-term smoke episodes. Australiaâs capital city Canberraâs air quality fits this pattern. During the 2019-2020 summer season, Australia experienced particularly devastating wildfires, colloquially known as the countryâs âblack summerâ. Canberra and the broader Australian Capital Territory (ACT) area in particular was subjected to extreme levels of prolonged air pollution from the black summerâs bushfires, temporarily registering as one of the most polluted cities in the world.1
Real-time Canberra air pollution information is displayed at the top of this page, along with a 7-day air quality forecast and dynamic air quality map which also displays wildfire alerts. Stay on top of current conditions here and using the IQAir AirVisual air pollution app.
The main pollutants of health concern in Canberra are particulate matter: fine particles of up to 2.5 microns in diameter (abbreviated to PM2.5), or 10 microns in diameter (PM10). These tiny particles are present in smoke generated most commonly by wood heaters, bushfires, vehicle emission exhausts, and dust storms.2 PM is particularly hazardous to human health since its tiny size enables the particles to penetrate deep into the human system once inhaled, even entering the bloodstream. Health impacts of exposure to particulate matter include an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and lung cancer. Since PM is a main pollutant found in the smoke emitted through bushfires, the health hazards of these pollution episodes for Canberra air quality are important.
During 2019, Canberra ranked as Australiaâs 3rd most polluted city overall for hazardous PM2.5 pollution, with an annual average concentration of 15 Îźg/m3.3 This measurement exceeds both Australiaâs strict annual air quality standard for PM2.5 of 8 Îźg/m3, as well as the World Health Organisationâs annual standard (10 Îźg/m3). Canberra air quality ranked below only the cities of Tamworth (23.0 Îźg/m3) and Armidale (15.2 Îźg/m3), both located in New South Wales. The capital also ranked with significantly higher annual PM2.5 levels than major cities Sydney air pollution (10.1 Îźg/m3) and Melbourne air quality (6.5 Îźg/m3). In global context, Canberra ranked as the worldâs 49th most polluted capital city within a ranking of 84 global capitals by annual average PM2.5.3 This was more polluted than the capitals of Paris (14.7 Îźg/m3), Rome (12.9 Îźg/m3) and London (11.2 Îźg/m3).
As one of Australiaâs only planned cities, developed on land carved out of rural New South Wales as a diplomatic capital between major cities Melbourne and Sydney, Canberra is also known as the countryâs âbush capitalâ.4 With plenty of bush âfuelâ surrounding the capital, it is easy for bushfire smoke to reach the city during the annual fire season. However, two other key factors relating to Canberraâs geography can exacerbate smoke once it has reached the city: its location as a valley surrounded by mountains, and its wind patterns. Firstly, Canberraâs location between two mountain ranges, the Brindabellas to the west and the Great Dividing Range to the east, results in a âbowlâ-like shape, which can trap fog during winter months, and smoke during the hotter fire season.5 This valley shape also helps to prolong a weather phenomenon known as a temperature inversion, which traps pollution for longer periods. Usually, air is warmer closer towards the ground, while air becomes cooler higher up; during a temperature inversion, certain conditions lead ground-level air to become cooler, while hotter air rises above and acts like a lid, trapping the cooler air below the inversion. During summer, Canberraâs winds are typically east or south-easterly, bringing in air thatâs cooled from the sea. However, during wildfire season, these same winds can also bring particulates and soot from New South Wales wildfires to the east of Canberra which then get trapped under the temperature inversion lid.5 This was what occurred during Australiaâs black summer of 2019-2020, and could facilitate similar conditions for Canberra air pollution again in future.
During the majority of the year, particularly winter months, Canberra experiences relatively healthy air quality. During 2019, the months of January to October ranged between monthly average PM2.5 levels of 6.8 Îźg/m3 to 11.1 Îźg/m3, with a mean of 8.9 Îźg/m3. While this slightly exceeds Australiaâs national legal annual target of 8 Îźg/m3, this is within the World Health Organisationâs recommended annual limit of 10 Îźg/m3. Only during the last two months of 2019 did particulate pollution start increasing significantly, with 12.6 Îźg/m3 in November 2019, and a much higher 74.1 Îźg/m3 in December 2019.3
While the winter months therefore provide some relief from the bushfire-related air pollution, it is likely that Canberra may be subject to seasonal haze from wildfire smoke in the summer months again in future. However, due to the amount of bushfire âfuelâ that was burned up during 2019-2020âs black summer, experts predict that Australian bushfires may not reach such destructive levels for the subsequent 3 to 5 years as the land recovers.6
Australia uses an Air Quality Index to communicate air quality readings to the public. Canberraâs state, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) uses the national Air Quality Index system to communicate a Canberra Air Quality Index, which is based on the 5 pollutants monitored within the state. These are PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. ACT does not monitor sulphur dioxide due to a lack of heavy industry.2 The Canberra AQI is calculated as a percentage of the national limit outlined by the National Environment Protection Measure Ambient Air (NEPM) standards for each pollutant, whereby an AQI of 100 represents the maximum allowable amount (100%) of a given pollutant, and AQI numbers above 100 represent an excess of the national limit.7 According to this Canberra AQI scale, AQI levels of 0-33 are âVery Goodâ, while readings of 200+ register as âHazardousâ.
During Australiaâs black summer of extreme bushfires between 2019-2020, Canberra did briefly register as one of the most polluted cities in the world. On New Yearâs Day (1st January) 2020, following some days of heavy air pollution, Canberra air quality reached an extreme peak. At 1am on New Yearâs Day, one of Canberraâs 3 monitoring stations registered an AQI reading of 7,700 â representing a staggering excess of the Australia air quality limit by 77 times, well into the âHazardousâ AQI level of above 200.1
+ Article resources
[1] Amy Remeikis. âCanberra chokes on worldâs worst air quality as city all but shut downâ. The Guardian, January 3, 2020.
[2] ACT Government. âAir pollutants and sourcesâ. ACT Government website, September 3, 2019.
[3] IQAir. â2019 World Air Quality Reportâ. IQAir website, March 18, 2020.
[4] ACT Government & Canberra Museum + Gallery. âBush Capital: the natural history of the ACTâ. Bush Capital website, 12 March â 26 June, 2016.
[5] Markus Mannheim. âNSW fires will continue to blanket Canberra in smoke for foreseeable future, experts sayâ. ABC News Australia, January 7, 2020.
[6] Kevin Tolhurst. âItâs 12 months since the last bushfire season began, but donât expect the same this year.â The Conversation, June 10, 2020.
[7] ACT Government. âMeasuring air quality: Air Quality Indexâ. ACT Government website, n.d.
23Contributors
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21 Anonymous Contributors
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3 Data sources