SmogRank / Episodes / Belgium
Belgium and Germany, May 2024
For 2 days, from 18 to 19 May 2024, 12 cities in Belgium and Germany had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Grimbergen, Flanders, Belgium: 33.2 µg/m³ on 19 May, about 4.0× its usual 8.3.
No cause named We have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached 12 in 2 countries
Days 2 18 to 19 May 2024
Worst day 18 May 10 cities counted
Furthest above usual 4.9× Zaventem
Day by day
Play 18 May 10 cities at twice their usual or more
Flémalle-Haute Liège Namur Marche-en-Famenne Eindhoven Heerlen Tilburg Eupen Aachen Breda Charleroi Willebroek Venray Antwerp Kapellen Venlo Zwijndrecht Stabroek Nettetal Beveren Nijmegen Mönchengladbach IJsselstein Jüchen Ridderkerk Utrecht Maarssen Barneveld Krefeld Rotterdam Spijkenisse Schiedam Luxembourg Lochristi Esch-sur-Alzette Maassluis Düsseldorf Wesel Duisburg Gent Badhoevedorp The Hague Amsterdam Evergem Ratingen Hillegom 's-Gravenzande Köln Oberhausen Zaanstad Leverkusen Purmerend Trier Velserbroek Velsen-Zuid Bottrop Bonn Essen Borken Maldegem Wuppertal Tournai Gelsenkirchen Medemblik Hattingen Kortrijk Dillingen Izegem Enschede Menen Roeselare Neuwied Datteln Hagen Dortmund Bendorf Koblenz Saarbrücken Schwerte Lüdenscheid Unna Münster Lingen Koksijde Groningen Bad Kreuznach Limburg an der Lahn Netphen Kaiserslautern Soest Wiesbaden Mainz Osnabrück Warstein Rüsselsheim am Main Königstein im Taunus Hattersheim Worms Eschborn Friesoythe Kehl Gießen Lampertheim Ludwigshafen am Rhein Mannheim Bielefeld Frankfurt am Main Marburg an der Lahn Speyer Darmstadt Bensheim Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen Baden-Baden Karlsruhe Heidelberg Hanau am Main Oldenburg Wiesloch Michelstadt Großostheim Pforzheim Aschaffenburg Delmenhorst Rinteln Bremen Herrenberg Kassel Canterbury Clacton-on-Sea Heilbronn Oyten Ludwigsburg Stuttgart Norwich Fulda Tübingen Filderstadt Reutlingen Lauda-Königshofen Witzenhausen Göttingen Hannover Canvey Island Würzburg Gillingham Hildesheim Grays Eisenach Newmarket Dartford Meiningen Mühlhausen Dagenham Bexley Aalen Seaford Goslar Ulm Salzgitter Neu-Ulm Braunschweig Ansbach Bergheim Jülich Mechelen Mol Aarschot Brussels Houthalen Grimbergen Mons Andenne Hasselt Zaventem 15 May 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Every measured city in the area, coloured by its PM2.5 that day; a dark ring marks a city at twice its usual or more. Bars: cities counted each day, coloured by their median level. Choose a day or press play; without JavaScript, the days link to that day's world ranking.
How it spread
Hasselt Hasselt, 15 May: 4.1 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Hasselt, 16 May: 8.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Hasselt, 17 May: 18.4 µg/m³, 2.7× usual Hasselt, 18 May: 29.7 µg/m³, 4.4× usual Hasselt, 19 May: 29.4 µg/m³, 4.3× usual Hasselt, 20 May: 10.0 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Hasselt, 21 May: 13.2 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Hasselt, 22 May: 10.5 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Brussels Brussels, 15 May: no reading Brussels, 16 May: 7.1 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Brussels, 17 May: 12.9 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Brussels, 18 May: 28.7 µg/m³, 3.8× usual Brussels, 19 May: 26.4 µg/m³, 3.5× usual Brussels, 20 May: 16.8 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Brussels, 21 May: 16.4 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Brussels, 22 May: 14.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Zaventem Zaventem, 15 May: 3.7 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Zaventem, 16 May: 7.0 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Zaventem, 17 May: 10.6 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Zaventem, 18 May: 28.5 µg/m³, 4.3× usual Zaventem, 19 May: 32.4 µg/m³, 4.9× usual Zaventem, 20 May: 15.2 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Zaventem, 21 May: 14.6 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Zaventem, 22 May: 13.1 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Grimbergen Grimbergen, 15 May: 4.4 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Grimbergen, 16 May: 8.0 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Grimbergen, 17 May: 11.3 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Grimbergen, 18 May: 28.3 µg/m³, 3.4× usual Grimbergen, 19 May: 33.2 µg/m³, 4.0× usual Grimbergen, 20 May: 17.9 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Grimbergen, 21 May: 17.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Grimbergen, 22 May: 14.4 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Aarschot Aarschot, 15 May: 4.3 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Aarschot, 16 May: 6.6 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Aarschot, 17 May: 13.2 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Aarschot, 18 May: 28.1 µg/m³, 3.7× usual Aarschot, 19 May: 27.5 µg/m³, 3.7× usual Aarschot, 20 May: 14.0 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Aarschot, 21 May: 13.4 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Aarschot, 22 May: 12.1 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Houthalen Houthalen, 15 May: 4.6 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Houthalen, 16 May: 7.2 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Houthalen, 17 May: 15.9 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Houthalen, 18 May: 27.2 µg/m³, 3.9× usual Houthalen, 19 May: 22.9 µg/m³, 3.3× usual Houthalen, 20 May: 10.5 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Houthalen, 21 May: 13.2 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Houthalen, 22 May: 9.9 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Bergheim Bergheim, 15 May: 11.5 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Bergheim, 16 May: 11.8 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Bergheim, 17 May: 16.3 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Bergheim, 18 May: 27.1 µg/m³, 3.0× usual Bergheim, 19 May: 21.3 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Bergheim, 20 May: 15.8 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Bergheim, 21 May: 12.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Bergheim, 22 May: 7.5 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Mol Mol, 15 May: 7.6 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Mol, 16 May: 9.2 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Mol, 17 May: 17.0 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Mol, 18 May: 26.8 µg/m³, 3.3× usual Mol, 19 May: 21.8 µg/m³, 2.7× usual Mol, 20 May: 14.4 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Mol, 21 May: 16.5 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Mol, 22 May: 14.8 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Jülich Jülich, 15 May: 8.7 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Jülich, 16 May: 10.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Jülich, 17 May: 16.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Jülich, 18 May: 25.6 µg/m³, 3.2× usual Jülich, 19 May: 16.2 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Jülich, 20 May: 11.3 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Jülich, 21 May: 11.4 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Jülich, 22 May: 6.5 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Mechelen Mechelen, 15 May: 4.0 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Mechelen, 16 May: 7.2 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Mechelen, 17 May: 11.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Mechelen, 18 May: 25.2 µg/m³, 3.3× usual Mechelen, 19 May: 24.2 µg/m³, 3.2× usual Mechelen, 20 May: 15.3 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Mechelen, 21 May: 14.0 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Mechelen, 22 May: 11.5 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Mons Mons, 15 May: 2.4 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Mons, 16 May: 3.9 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Mons, 17 May: 7.7 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Mons, 18 May: 17.6 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Mons, 19 May: 28.0 µg/m³, 4.1× usual Mons, 20 May: 22.1 µg/m³, 3.3× usual Mons, 21 May: 18.7 µg/m³, 2.8× usual Mons, 22 May: 12.6 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Andenne Andenne, 15 May: 1.5 µg/m³, 0.3× usual Andenne, 16 May: 3.9 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Andenne, 17 May: 10.4 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Andenne, 18 May: 17.4 µg/m³, 2.9× usual Andenne, 19 May: 25.8 µg/m³, 4.4× usual Andenne, 20 May: 15.4 µg/m³, 2.6× usual Andenne, 21 May: 10.2 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Andenne, 22 May: 7.4 µg/m³, 1.3× usual 15 May 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Every counted city, in the order the episode reached them, 3 days before to 3 after. Each square is a day, coloured by that day's PM2.5; outlined: at twice the city's usual or more. Good 0–50
Moderate 51–100
Sensitive groups 101–150
Unhealthy 151–200
Very unhealthy 201–300
Hazardous 301+
Every city it reached
City Days Highest Usual Above usual
Zaventem Flanders, Belgium 2 19 May 6.6 4.9× Andenne Wallonia, Belgium 1 19 May 5.9 4.4× Hasselt Flanders, Belgium 2 18 May 6.8 4.4× Mons Wallonia, Belgium 1 19 May 6.8 4.1× Grimbergen Flanders, Belgium 2 19 May 8.3 4.0× Houthalen Flanders, Belgium 1 18 May 7.0 3.9× Brussels Brussels Capital, Belgium 2 18 May 7.6 3.8× Aarschot Flanders, Belgium 2 18 May 7.5 3.7× Mechelen Flanders, Belgium 1 18 May 7.6 3.3× Mol Flanders, Belgium 1 18 May 8.1 3.3× Jülich North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany 1 18 May 8.1 3.2× Bergheim North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany 1 18 May 9.0 3.0×
Daily means in µg/m³. Usual: the city's median for this time of year (its days within 21 days of the date, every year, leaving out the week around it). Above usual: its highest day against that.
Against other episodes in Belgium and Germany
Number 39 of 45 episodes in Belgium and Germany since our records began, by cities reached.
Central Europe, February 2023 608 Central Europe, February and March 2025 513 Central Europe, February 2025 503 Central Europe, January and February 2026 498 Central Europe, March 2025 458 Central Europe, January 2024 449 Central Europe, March 2026 442 Central Europe, January 2025 383 Central Europe, March 2026 361 Central Europe, March 2025 333 Central Europe, February and March 2024 264 Eastern Europe, November 2024 260 Belgium and Germany, May 2024 12 Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 45 .
Use this page SmogRank, Belgium and Germany, May 2024: 12 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 18 to 19 May 2024, smogrank.com/episodes/2024-05-belgium-and-germany (accessed 3 October 2026).
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You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms .
An episode is a run of days when many cities close to each other (four or more within 350 km on a day, 8 or more in all) each had a daily PM2.5 mean of at least 25 µg/m³ and at least 2 times their usual for that time of year. Found in our own measurements, not picked by hand. How we find episodes . Values are each city's daily mean of its own monitors; causes are the usual kinds for a pattern like this, not a confirmed source.
