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.

About 0 people in these 4 cities breathed unhealthy air on an average day so far this year.

Ranked by people: each city's population times its share of unhealthy days, those with a daily mean over 35.4 µg/m³ (US AQI 101+). That is how many people living there breathed unhealthy air on an average day. Only cities measured at 2 or more places at least 3 km apart are ranked: one monitor shouldn't speak for a whole city. Population is the city itself, not its wider metro area.

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.
← Vancouver 0 0.750
Every measured city in British Columbia, Canada with monitors in two or more places, one column each, ranked by people breathing unhealthy air: height is people on an average day, colour its average. Point at it to read a city; tap to open it.
  1. 1Vancouver 0
  2. 2Burnaby 0
  3. 2Langley 0
  4. 4Kitimat 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.

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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.

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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.