SmogRank / World / North America / Canada / British Columbia

Most polluted cities in British Columbia, Canada

35 measured cities, this year; 22 above the WHO annual guideline. Worst: Kamloops at 13.7 µg/m³, #628 in the world.

Ranked by unhealthy days: the share of each city's measured days with a daily mean over 35.4 µg/m³ (US AQI 101+), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse on the US EPA's scale. Ties go to the higher average.

YukonNorthwest TerritoriesNunavutBritish Columbia: 35 measured citiesAlberta: 14 measured cities#35 North Cowichan: 3.3 µg/m³#34 Campbell River: 3.4 µg/m³#32 Delta: 4.2 µg/m³#33 West Vancouver: 4.2 µg/m³#31 North Vancouver: 4.3 µg/m³#29 Smithers: 4.5 µg/m³#30 Terrace: 4.5 µg/m³#27 Nanaimo: 4.7 µg/m³#28 Whistler: 4.7 µg/m³#25 Kitimat: 4.8 µg/m³#26 Richmond: 4.8 µg/m³#24 Port Coquitlam: 4.9 µg/m³#23 Strawberry Hill: 5.0 µg/m³#20 Burnaby: 5.1 µg/m³#21 Coquitlam: 5.1 µg/m³#22 Langley: 5.1 µg/m³#19 Vancouver: 5.2 µg/m³#17 Gibsons: 5.4 µg/m³#18 Victoria: 5.4 µg/m³#15 Fort St. John: 5.7 µg/m³#16 Harewood: 5.7 µg/m³#13 Abbotsford: 5.8 µg/m³#14 Squamish: 5.8 µg/m³#12 Prince George: 6.5 µg/m³#10 Chilliwack: 6.7 µg/m³#11 Port Alberni: 6.7 µg/m³#8 Agassiz: 6.8 µg/m³#9 Williams Lake: 6.8 µg/m³#7 Quesnel: 7.8 µg/m³#6 Kelowna: 8.1 µg/m³#5 Hope: 8.5 µg/m³#4 Cranbrook: 9.0 µg/m³#3 Vernon: 11.3 µg/m³#2 Castlegar: 12.3 µg/m³#1 Kamloops: 13.7 µg/m³
Each dot is a measured city, coloured by its PM2.5; tap a dot to open the city.
← Kamloops 7% 6%0
Every measured city in British Columbia, Canada, one column each, ranked by unhealthy days: height is the share of its measured days that were unhealthy, colour its average. Point at it to read a city; tap to open it.
  1. 1Kamloops 7%
  2. 2Castlegarlast full day 3 Oct 7%
  3. 3Cranbrooklast full day 3 Oct 5%
  4. 4Vernon 5%
  5. 5Hope 4%
  6. 6Kelowna 3%
  7. 7Williams Lakelast full day 3 Oct 3%
  8. 8Agassiz 3%
  9. 9Chilliwack 2%
  10. 10Squamish 1%
  11. 11Quesnellast full day 3 Oct 1%
  12. 12Fort St. John 1%
  13. 13Gibsons 1%
  14. 14Abbotsford 1%
  15. 15Coquitlam 1%
  16. 16Prince George 0%
  17. 17Port Coquitlam 0%
  18. 18North Vancouver 0%
  19. 19Port Alberni 0%
  20. 20Harewoodlast full day 2 Oct 0%
  21. 21Victoria 0%
  22. 22Vancouver 0%
  23. 23Burnaby 0%
  24. 23Langley 0%
  25. 25Strawberry Hill 0%
  26. 26Kitimat 0%
  27. 26Richmond 0%
  28. 28Nanaimo 0%
  29. 28Whistler 0%
  30. 30Smitherslast full day 1 Oct 0%
  31. 30Terrace 0%
  32. 32Delta 0%
  33. 32West Vancouver 0%
  34. 34Campbell River 0%
  35. 35North Cowichan 0%
Good0–50
Moderate51–100
Sensitive groups101–150
Unhealthy151–200
Very unhealthy201–300
Hazardous301+

The US EPA's Air Quality Index for PM2.5 (2024 breakpoints). Show values as: µg/m³ · US AQI · India AQI · China AQI · European AQI · UK DAQI · Canada AQHI+. About the scales

Estimated: cities without a monitor

British Columbia cities we can't measure, with model estimates for the last 7 days. Listed by population, not ranked: estimates aren't precise enough to rank. Model estimates from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), adjusted to measured cities nearby where there are any. Adjusted, a single day lands within ×1.5 of what a monitor would read about two times in three; unadjusted, it can be off by half or double. Treat them as a guide, not a measurement.

City7-day estimateBand
Surrey≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Saanich≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Maple Ridge≈ 6 µg/m³Good
New Westminster≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Fleetwood≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Mission≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Penticton≈ 3 µg/m³Good
Victoria-Fraserview≈ 5 µg/m³Good
West Kelowna≈ 3 µg/m³Good
Port Moody≈ 6 µg/m³Good
White Rock≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Riley Park≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Salmon Arm≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Pitt Meadows≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Oak Bay≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Esquimalt≈ 3 µg/m³Good
Central Saanich≈ 3 µg/m³Good
Colwood≈ 3 µg/m³Good
Lake Country≈ 3 µg/m³Good
Sooke≈ 4 µg/m³Good

Bad-air episodes in British Columbia

Times when many cities around here had PM2.5 at twice their usual or more on the same days.

Use this board

SmogRank, most polluted cities in British Columbia, Canada, PM2.5, this year to 6 Oct 2026, 22:00 UTC, smogrank.com/ca/region/british-columbia?w=year.

Download top 10 (PNG)

You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms. Raw monitor readings in bulk are published by OpenAQ, under each provider's licence.

Updated 2026-10-06 22:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.