Worst air pollution Cape Town, today and tomorrow

On 18 July 2026, overall air quality in Cape Town is fair. PM1 is the main pollutant at 33.9/100. Pollution peaks around 10:00 AM (SO2: 45.1/100).

On 19 July 2026, air quality conditions in Cape Town will be worse than today, with AQI forecast at poor at 65.4/100. Pollution peaks around 11:00 PM (SO2: 65.4/100).

At Cape Town, occasional poor air quality tends to occur on calm winter days from June to August, when the Cape's usual wind drops off and local emissions can build up overnight around the town. Through spring and summer, the reliable southeasterly wind returns and generally keeps particulate levels low and well dispersed across the wider region.

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.