SmogRank / Episodes / Germany
Germany, France and Luxembourg, August 2026
For 3 days, from 15 to 17 August 2026, 16 cities in Germany, France, Luxembourg and 1 more countries had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Völklingen, Saarland, Germany: 72.3 µg/m³ on 15 August, about 13× its usual 5.5.
No cause named We have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached 16 in 4 countries
Days 3 15 to 17 August 2026
Worst day 17 August 13 cities counted
Furthest above usual 13× Völklingen
Day by day
Play 17 August 13 cities at twice their usual or more
Kaiserslautern Bad Kreuznach Koblenz Neuwied Épinal Bendorf Bonn Eupen Köln Aachen Jülich Worms Limburg an der Lahn Mainz Pulheim Wiesbaden Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen Speyer Leverkusen Ludwigshafen am Rhein Karlsruhe Mannheim Heerlen Lampertheim Jüchen Mulhouse Rüsselsheim am Main Liège Hoensbroek Riedstadt Freiburg Ans Müllheim Flémalle-Haute Mönchengladbach Hattersheim Düsseldorf Bensheim Königstein im Taunus Wuppertal Montbéliard Ratingen Heidelberg Wiesloch Darmstadt Eschborn Olpe Krefeld Pforzheim Lörrach Saint-Dizier Basel Lüdenscheid Netphen Andenne Frankfurt am Main Genk Duisburg Hattingen Venlo Essen Wetzlar Hagen Oberhausen Hasselt Gelsenkirchen Bottrop Houthalen Villingen-Schwenningen Schwerte Namur Dortmund Herrenberg Gießen Michelstadt Hanau am Main Wesel Venray Unna Datteln Lünen Großostheim Tübingen Eindhoven Marburg an der Lahn Aschaffenburg Heilbronn Borken Ludwigsburg Mol Stuttgart Aarschot Bern Filderstadt Soest Charleroi Warstein Jumet Reutlingen Nijmegen Rixensart Overijse Dole Zürich Winterthur Tilburg Zaventem Reims Mechelen Brussels Beersel Grimbergen Bad Wildungen Lauda-Königshofen Willebroek Konstanz Schwäbisch Hall Breda Antwerp Mons Kapellen Zwijndrecht Stabroek Fulda Beveren Würzburg Friedrichshafen Biberach an der Riß Kassel Aalen Ulm Neu-Ulm Valenciennes Lochristi Lindau Spijkenisse Lustenau Gent Denain Evergem Saint-Quentin Dornbirn Auxerre Tournai Witzenhausen Uslar Coulommiers Göttingen Ansbach Maldegem Kortrijk Meiningen Douai Roubaix Eisenach Izegem Kempten (Allgäu) Menen Lille Roeselare Knokke-Heist Duderstadt Mühlhausen Suhl Arras Bamberg Fontainebleau Augsburg Nuremberg Montargis Béthune Creil Füssen Nevers Paris Domont Koksijde Amiens Nordhausen Erfurt Sondershausen Ingolstadt Wernigerode Dunkirk Beauvais Étampes Starnberg Weimar Munich Bourges Rambouillet Jena Innsbruck Orléans Kelheim Olivet Calais Schwandorf in Bayern Marktredwitz Boulogne-sur-Mer Weiden Chartres Landshut Dreux Weißenfels Gera Bernburg Greiz Merseburg Halle (Saale) Zeitz Köthen Lunéville Baden-Baden Kehl Strasbourg Nancy Esch-sur-Alzette Saint-Avold Dillingen Trier Luxembourg Thionville Saarbrücken Marche-en-Famenne Metz Saarlouis Völklingen 12 Aug 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 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
Völklingen Völklingen, 12 August: 3.4 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Völklingen, 13 August: 4.4 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Völklingen, 14 August: 6.7 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Völklingen, 15 August: 72.3 µg/m³, 13× usual Völklingen, 16 August: no reading Völklingen, 17 August: 27.1 µg/m³, 4.9× usual Völklingen, 18 August: 6.0 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Völklingen, 19 August: 4.4 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Völklingen, 20 August: 3.2 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Saarlouis Saarlouis, 12 August: 3.4 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Saarlouis, 13 August: 4.9 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Saarlouis, 14 August: 7.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Saarlouis, 15 August: 68.2 µg/m³, 12× usual Saarlouis, 16 August: no reading Saarlouis, 17 August: 25.9 µg/m³, 4.6× usual Saarlouis, 18 August: 5.7 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Saarlouis, 19 August: 4.0 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Saarlouis, 20 August: 2.7 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Saarbrücken Saarbrücken, 12 August: 3.6 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Saarbrücken, 13 August: 4.9 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Saarbrücken, 14 August: 7.9 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Saarbrücken, 15 August: 52.9 µg/m³, 8.5× usual Saarbrücken, 16 August: no reading Saarbrücken, 17 August: 27.8 µg/m³, 4.5× usual Saarbrücken, 18 August: 6.3 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Saarbrücken, 19 August: 4.2 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Saarbrücken, 20 August: 2.9 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Trier Trier, 12 August: 4.0 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Trier, 13 August: 5.6 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Trier, 14 August: 7.3 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Trier, 15 August: 50.2 µg/m³, 7.1× usual Trier, 16 August: no reading Trier, 17 August: 13.7 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Trier, 18 August: 8.6 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Trier, 19 August: 4.7 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Trier, 20 August: 3.9 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Dillingen Dillingen, 12 August: 4.8 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Dillingen, 13 August: 6.5 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Dillingen, 14 August: 8.3 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Dillingen, 15 August: 46.2 µg/m³, 6.8× usual Dillingen, 16 August: no reading Dillingen, 17 August: 26.1 µg/m³, 3.8× usual Dillingen, 18 August: 6.6 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Dillingen, 19 August: 4.7 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Dillingen, 20 August: 3.6 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Saint-Avold Saint-Avold, 12 August: 4.2 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Saint-Avold, 13 August: 4.7 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Saint-Avold, 14 August: 7.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Saint-Avold, 15 August: 34.4 µg/m³, 6.4× usual Saint-Avold, 16 August: no reading Saint-Avold, 17 August: 32.3 µg/m³, 6.0× usual Saint-Avold, 18 August: 4.9 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Saint-Avold, 19 August: 3.5 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Saint-Avold, 20 August: 2.3 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Marche-en-Famenne Marche-en-Famenne, 12 August: 0.7 µg/m³, 0.1× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 13 August: 1.4 µg/m³, 0.3× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 14 August: 3.4 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 15 August: 7.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 16 August: 44.7 µg/m³, 8.9× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 17 August: 7.5 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 18 August: 7.4 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 19 August: 1.9 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Marche-en-Famenne, 20 August: 1.1 µg/m³, 0.2× usual Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette, 12 August: 3.9 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 13 August: 5.2 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 14 August: 8.2 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 15 August: 12.2 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 16 August: 36.4 µg/m³, 5.4× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 17 August: 21.0 µg/m³, 3.1× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 18 August: 6.7 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 19 August: 4.2 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Esch-sur-Alzette, 20 August: 3.6 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Luxembourg Luxembourg, 12 August: 4.5 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Luxembourg, 13 August: 5.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Luxembourg, 14 August: 7.8 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Luxembourg, 15 August: 13.4 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Luxembourg, 16 August: 33.0 µg/m³, 5.5× usual Luxembourg, 17 August: 45.6 µg/m³, 7.6× usual Luxembourg, 18 August: 7.2 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Luxembourg, 19 August: 4.4 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Luxembourg, 20 August: 5.0 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Lunéville Lunéville, 12 August: 6.0 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Lunéville, 13 August: 7.6 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Lunéville, 14 August: 9.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Lunéville, 15 August: 13.7 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Lunéville, 16 August: 26.6 µg/m³, 4.4× usual Lunéville, 17 August: 25.2 µg/m³, 4.1× usual Lunéville, 18 August: 6.8 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Lunéville, 19 August: 5.0 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Lunéville, 20 August: 4.1 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Thionville Thionville, 12 August: 4.6 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Thionville, 13 August: 6.6 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Thionville, 14 August: 9.5 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Thionville, 15 August: 14.6 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Thionville, 16 August: 25.3 µg/m³, 4.4× usual Thionville, 17 August: 48.8 µg/m³, 8.4× usual Thionville, 18 August: 6.8 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Thionville, 19 August: 5.6 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Thionville, 20 August: 4.4 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Metz Metz, 12 August: 3.9 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Metz, 13 August: 5.2 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Metz, 14 August: 8.3 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Metz, 15 August: 12.6 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Metz, 16 August: 20.2 µg/m³, 3.2× usual Metz, 17 August: 62.2 µg/m³, 9.9× usual Metz, 18 August: 4.2 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Metz, 19 August: 2.5 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Metz, 20 August: no reading Strasbourg Strasbourg, 12 August: 4.1 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Strasbourg, 13 August: 5.2 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Strasbourg, 14 August: 7.1 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Strasbourg, 15 August: 12.5 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Strasbourg, 16 August: 19.5 µg/m³, 3.1× usual Strasbourg, 17 August: 32.3 µg/m³, 5.1× usual Strasbourg, 18 August: 8.0 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Strasbourg, 19 August: 4.5 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Strasbourg, 20 August: 2.7 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Nancy Nancy, 12 August: 6.2 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Nancy, 13 August: 6.8 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Nancy, 14 August: 9.3 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Nancy, 15 August: 11.8 µg/m³, 1.9× usual Nancy, 16 August: 13.6 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Nancy, 17 August: 31.9 µg/m³, 5.2× usual Nancy, 18 August: 6.1 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Nancy, 19 August: 5.0 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Nancy, 20 August: 4.4 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Kehl Kehl, 12 August: 4.2 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Kehl, 13 August: 4.9 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Kehl, 14 August: 6.8 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Kehl, 15 August: 11.9 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Kehl, 16 August: no reading Kehl, 17 August: 28.0 µg/m³, 4.7× usual Kehl, 18 August: 7.7 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Kehl, 19 August: 4.6 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Kehl, 20 August: no reading Baden-Baden Baden-Baden, 12 August: 4.5 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Baden-Baden, 13 August: 4.7 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Baden-Baden, 14 August: 6.2 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Baden-Baden, 15 August: 8.4 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Baden-Baden, 16 August: no reading Baden-Baden, 17 August: 25.0 µg/m³, 4.7× usual Baden-Baden, 18 August: 10.9 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Baden-Baden, 19 August: 3.7 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Baden-Baden, 20 August: no reading 12 Aug 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 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
Völklingen Saarland, Germany 2 15 August 5.5 13× Saarlouis Saarland, Germany 2 15 August 5.6 12× Metz Grand Est, France 1 17 August 6.3 9.9× Marche-en-Famenne Wallonia, Belgium 1 16 August 3.1 8.9× Saarbrücken Saarland, Germany 2 15 August 6.2 8.5× Thionville Grand Est, France 2 17 August 5.8 8.4× Luxembourg Luxembourg 2 17 August 6.0 7.6× Trier Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany 1 15 August 7.1 7.1× Dillingen Saarland, Germany 2 15 August 6.8 6.8× Saint-Avold Grand Est, France 2 15 August 5.4 6.4× Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg 1 16 August 6.8 5.4× Nancy Grand Est, France 1 17 August 6.1 5.2× Strasbourg Grand Est, France 1 17 August 6.3 5.1× Baden-Baden Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany 1 17 August 5.3 4.7× Kehl Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany 1 17 August 6.0 4.7× Lunéville Grand Est, France 2 16 August 6.1 4.4×
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 Germany and France
Number 30 of 42 episodes in Germany and France since our records began, by cities reached.
Central Europe, February 2023 604 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, March 2026 442 Central Europe, January 2025 383 Central Europe, March 2026 361 Central Europe, March 2025 333 Central Europe, February and March 2023 274 Central Europe, December 2025 to January 2026 170 Eastern Europe, January 2025 123 Germany, France and Luxembourg, August 2026 16 Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 42 .
Use this page SmogRank, Germany, France and Luxembourg, August 2026: 16 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 15 to 17 August 2026, smogrank.com/episodes/2026-08-germany-france-and-luxembourg (accessed 2 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.
