SmogRank / Essen / Munich

Essen vs Munich: PM2.5 compared

Over the last year, Essen and Munich had about the same air: PM2.5 averaged 9.9 and 10.2 µg/m³, on the 316 days both cities were measured. Essen had the dirtier air on 148 of those days, Munich on 163. Essen was over the WHO's daily guideline of 15 µg/m³ on 48 of them, Munich on 46.

Right now

Essen#245on the 24-hour board of 1,611, at 62 US AQI (14.8 µg/m³)
Munich–not on the 24-hour board right now

The last year, day by day

Essen
Munich
Each city's daily mean from 6 Oct 2025 to 5 Oct 2026, one stripe a day, coloured by band. A blank stripe is a day without a daily mean.

Month by month

15Essen, Nov 2025: 9.3 µg/m³Munich, Nov 2025: 9.3 µg/m³Nov 2025Essen, Dec: 11.0 µg/m³Munich, Dec: 10.8 µg/m³DecEssen, Jan 2026: 16.4 µg/m³Munich, Jan 2026: 18.2 µg/m³Jan 2026Essen, Feb: 10.3 µg/m³Munich, Feb: 9.9 µg/m³FebEssen, Mar: 14.1 µg/m³Munich, Mar: 13.8 µg/m³MarEssen, Apr: 8.9 µg/m³Munich, Apr: 8.7 µg/m³AprEssen, May: 7.8 µg/m³Munich, May: 7.4 µg/m³MayEssen, Jun: 9.4 µg/m³Munich, Jun: 9.6 µg/m³JunEssen, Jul: 8.3 µg/m³Munich, Jul: 8.4 µg/m³JulEssen, Aug: 6.8 µg/m³Munich, Aug: 8.9 µg/m³AugEssen, Sep: 6.7 µg/m³Munich, Sep: 8.7 µg/m³SepOct
Monthly means in µg/m³ over the days both cities were measured. Solid: Essen. Faded: Munich. A month shows once both share 10 such days. Dashed line: the WHO daily guideline.

Year by year

YearEssenMunichDays both measuredDays Essen was worse
2026 so far5354237110
20255353319150
20244952264122
20235248239150

Means in US AQI over the days both cities were measured that year; a year shows once they share 30 such days.

Each city's worst days

Essen

Munich

Daily means in US AQI, over the days both cities were measured in the last year. Each date opens that day's world board.

Compare either city with another

Essen

Side by side with Gelsenkirchen, Gujranwala.

Munich

Side by side with Herrsching am Ammersee, Augsburg, Gujranwala.

Use this page

SmogRank, PM2.5 daily means compared, Essen and Munich, 8 Oct 2025 – 5 Oct 2026, smogrank.com/compare/de-essen/de-munich (accessed 6 Oct 2026).

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.

The same rules as every SmogRank figure: reference monitors first, and a day counts with 18 measured hours. How we measure.

Updated 2026-10-06 20:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.