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

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

34 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany ranked by their average PM2.5 so far (278 of 365 days); 34 above the WHO annual guideline (5.0 µg/m³). Worst: Unna at 12.9 µg/m³, #670 of 2,745 cities in the world. Cleanest: Roetgen at 5.9. 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.

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

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SmogRank, most polluted cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, PM2.5, 2026 (so far), smogrank.com/de/region/north-rhine-westphalia/history/2026 (accessed 6 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.