Worst air pollution Inner Harbour - Victoria, today and tomorrow

On 30 August 2026, overall air quality in Inner Harbour is good. AQI is the main air quality indicator at 19.7/100. Pollution peaks around 9:00 AM (O3: 19.7/100).

On 31 August 2026, air quality conditions in Inner Harbour will be worse than today, with AQI forecast at fair at 22.7/100. Pollution peaks around 8:00 AM (O3: 22.7/100).

The Inner Harbour's air quality follows a seasonal rhythm tied to its waterfront setting at the heart of downtown Victoria. Winter brings frequent rain that keeps the air clean and washed, while summer's drier stretches can occasionally trap traffic emissions and, in bad wildfire years, smoke drifting in from the BC Interior. Persistent onshore breezes off the Pacific generally keep pollutants from building up for long.

It is forecasts derived by downscaling forecasts provided by EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) by taking into account local conditions such as traffic patterns. CAMS bases its forecast on satellite measurements of particles and chemical compounds in the atmosphere. Airmine’s services were developed with support from the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) team.

Airmine’s forecast uses CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) as its background atmospheric model. While CAMS includes wildfire emissions, these are derived from satellite observations and are not available in real time. During rapidly evolving wildfire events, there may therefore be a delay before increased emissions are incorporated into the model. As a result, the forecast may temporarily underestimate PM₂.₅ and other pollutants associated with wildfire smoke.

During rapidly evolving wildfire events, CAMS may lag by approximately 1–2 days before increased wildfire emissions are fully represented, which can lead to temporary underestimation of PM₂.₅ concentrations in Airmine’s forecast.