SmogRank / World / Germany / North Rhine-Westphalia / July 2026

Most polluted cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, July 2026

35 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany ranked by their average PM2.5 over the 31 days. Worst: Unna at 12.8 µg/m³, #744 of 2,751 cities in the world. Cleanest: Olpe at 4.6. A city needs measurements on 70% of the days to be ranked.

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.

← Gelsenkirchen 3% 3%0
Every city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany ranked for July 2026, 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. 1Gelsenkirchen
    3%
  2. 2Unna
    0%
  3. 3Warstein
    0%
  4. 4Essen
    0%
  5. 5Krefeld
    0%
  6. 5Dortmund
    0%
  7. 7Niederzier
    0%
  8. 8Aachen
    0%
  9. 9Hagen
    0%
  10. 10Duisburg
    0%
  11. 11Düsseldorf
    0%
  12. 12Titz
    0%
  13. 12Jüchen
    0%
  14. 14Oberhausen
    0%
  15. 14Mönchengladbach
    0%
  16. 16Wesel
    0%
  17. 16Schwerte
    0%
  18. 16Bottrop
    0%
  19. 19Wuppertal
    0%
  20. 19Leverkusen
    0%
  21. 21Münster
    0%
  22. 22Köln
    0%
  23. 22Kaldenkirchen
    0%
  24. 22Datteln
    0%
  25. 25Soest
    0%
  26. 25Bonn
    0%
  27. 27Borken
    0%
  28. 28Ratingen
    0%
  29. 29Sinnersdorf
    0%
  30. 29Hattingen
    0%
  31. 31Bielefeld
    0%
  32. 32Roetgen
    0%
  33. 32Lünen
    0%
  34. 34Lüdenscheid
    0%
  35. 35Olpelow-cost sensors
    0%

Low-cost sensors: consumer units, counted only in cities with no government-grade monitor; they read close to reference monitors on the whole, but 15 to 25% high in humid air. How we use them.

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

All cities in the world, July 2026 · All cities in Germany, July 2026 · North Rhine-Westphalia now

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SmogRank, most polluted cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, PM2.5, July 2026, smogrank.com/de/region/north-rhine-westphalia/history/2026-07 (accessed 7 Oct 2026).

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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.