Worst air pollution Bo-Kaap - Cape Town, today and tomorrow

On 9 August 2026, overall air quality in Bo-Kaap is good. AQI is the main air quality indicator at 17.0/100. Pollution peaks around 3:00 PM (O3: 17.0/100).

On 10 August 2026, air quality conditions in Bo-Kaap will be similar to today, with AQI forecast at good at 17.9/100. Pollution peaks around 1:00 PM (O3: 17.9/100).

Ask locals at Bo-Kaap when the air is worst, and most would say calm winter days, when emissions tied to the city bowl, harbour, and southern suburbs aren't cleared by the usual Cape wind. That wind reliably returns through spring and summer, keeping conditions consistently good the rest of the time. This is a familiar pattern across much of the Cape.

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.