SmogRank / Cleaner or dirtier / Australia

Australia: cleaner or dirtier, 2026

In Australia, 21 cities have enough days in both years to compare 2026 so far (1 January to 6 October) with the same days of 2025: 14 got dirtier and 5 cleaner.

The 14 cities that got dirtier, biggest rise first

#	City	2025	2026	Change
1	TownsvilleQueensland, Australia	27	32	+0.9 µg/m³+18%
2	MaryboroughQueensland, Australia	26	31	+0.9 µg/m³+19%
3	SydneyNew South Wales, Australia	28	32	+0.8 µg/m³+16%
4	MackayQueensland, Australia	32	34	+0.5 µg/m³+9%
5	Sunshine CoastQueensland, Australia	25	28	+0.5 µg/m³+11%
6	BrisbaneQueensland, Australia	26	28	+0.4 µg/m³+9%
7	NarangbaQueensland, Australia	26	28	+0.3 µg/m³+6%
8	Gold CoastQueensland, Australia	26	28	+0.3 µg/m³+6%
9	EmeraldQueensland, Australia	22	24	+0.3 µg/m³+7%
10	Logan CityQueensland, Australia	25	26	+0.2 µg/m³+4%
11	ToowoombaQueensland, Australia	21	22	+0.2 µg/m³+5%
12	Mango HillQueensland, Australia	24	26	+0.2 µg/m³+5%
13	TuggeranongAustralian Capital Territory, Australia	43	44	+0.1 µg/m³+1%
14	CoomeraQueensland, Australia	24	25	+0.1 µg/m³+2%

The 5 cities that got cleaner, biggest fall first

#	City	2025	2026	Change
1	PerthWestern Australia, Australia	29	19	−1.8 µg/m³−35%
2	Mount IsaQueensland, Australia	23	20	−0.6 µg/m³−14%
3	CairnsQueensland, Australia	26	23	−0.5 µg/m³−11%
4	GladstoneQueensland, Australia	27	26	−0.3 µg/m³−6%
5	MoranbahQueensland, Australia	27	26	−0.2 µg/m³−4%

Means in US AQI over the days a city was measured in both years, the same calendar days each year; a city needs 55% of the days paired, and at least 30. The change is in µg/m³ and per cent. How we compare.

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

Updated 2026-10-07 12:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.