SmogRank / Malawi / Southern Region

Air quality in Blantyre

Southern Region, Malawi. PM2.5 from 7 low-cost sensors, updated hourly.

7.1 µg/m³
Good

Latest hour (05:00 UTC), 0.5× the WHO 24-hour guideline.

Rank

24 h
–
not enough data
7 days
#22
of 2,330 · 54.4 µg/m³
30 days
#2
of 2,327 · 71.0 µg/m³
Year
#147
of 2,160 · 28.4 µg/m³

Why it ranks here

Unusually bad for Blantyre. The last 7 days averaged 54.4 µg/m³, about 2.4× its typical day (22.9). A jump like this usually has a short-lived cause: likely smoke from fires, dust, or stagnant weather trapping local emissions.

Likely fire smoke. On Sep 24, when Blantyre averaged 70.1 µg/m³ (its typical day: 22.9), NASA satellites detected 2,313 fires within 300 km (147 within 100 km). Smoke from those fires is a likely contributor; we don't check which way the wind blew, and mapped smoke can be high above the ground.

Seasonal. Over the past year its worst months were September, averaging up to 71.0 µg/m³ against 7.2 in its cleanest month. Seasonal peaks usually come from heating, crop burning, fire or dust seasons.

Based on Blantyre's own measurements, with fire detections from NASA FIRMS and smoke maps from NOAA HMS; causes are the usual kinds for a pattern like this, not a confirmed source.

Last 4 days, hour by hour

15302026-10-01 00:00 UTC: 4.3 µg/m³2026-10-01 01:00 UTC: 2.4 µg/m³2026-10-01 02:00 UTC: 1.1 µg/m³2026-10-01 03:00 UTC: 1.5 µg/m³2026-10-01 04:00 UTC: 0.8 µg/m³2026-10-01 05:00 UTC: 7.1 µg/m³Sep 28Sep 29Sep 30Oct 1

Times in UTC. Dashed line: WHO 24-hour guideline (15 µg/m³).

Every day for a year

SepNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepMonWedFri2025-09-29: 77.9 µg/m³2025-09-30: 77.1 µg/m³2025-10-01: 9.5 µg/m³2025-10-02: 25.8 µg/m³2025-10-03: 60.8 µg/m³2025-10-04: 42.0 µg/m³2025-10-05: 29.2 µg/m³2025-10-06: 38.1 µg/m³2025-10-07: 39.9 µg/m³2025-10-08: 62.5 µg/m³2025-10-09: 76.8 µg/m³2025-10-10: 64.4 µg/m³2025-10-11: 101.0 µg/m³2025-10-12: 72.0 µg/m³2025-10-13: 56.8 µg/m³2025-10-14: 82.8 µg/m³2025-10-15: 105.0 µg/m³2025-10-16: 103.0 µg/m³2025-10-17: 114.0 µg/m³2025-10-18: 52.6 µg/m³2025-10-19: 62.7 µg/m³2025-10-20: 50.6 µg/m³2025-10-21: 33.6 µg/m³2025-10-22: 21.3 µg/m³2025-10-23: 17.5 µg/m³2025-10-24: 65.4 µg/m³2025-10-25: 58.9 µg/m³2025-10-26: 36.7 µg/m³2025-10-27: 27.9 µg/m³2025-10-28: 35.1 µg/m³2025-10-29: 46.2 µg/m³2025-10-30: 47.5 µg/m³2025-10-31: 40.9 µg/m³2025-11-01: 48.0 µg/m³2025-11-02: 30.6 µg/m³2025-11-03: 47.2 µg/m³2025-11-04: 41.2 µg/m³2025-11-05: 48.0 µg/m³2025-11-06: 42.8 µg/m³2025-11-07: 47.1 µg/m³2025-11-08: 32.6 µg/m³2025-11-09: 25.2 µg/m³2025-11-10: 37.3 µg/m³2025-11-11: 51.9 µg/m³2025-11-12: 40.7 µg/m³2025-11-13: 24.0 µg/m³2025-11-14: no data2025-11-15: 34.4 µg/m³2025-11-16: 26.0 µg/m³2025-11-17: 67.8 µg/m³2025-11-18: 44.1 µg/m³2025-11-19: 20.3 µg/m³2025-11-20: 12.5 µg/m³2025-11-21: 20.7 µg/m³2025-11-22: 13.5 µg/m³2025-11-23: 18.5 µg/m³2025-11-24: 30.3 µg/m³2025-11-25: 40.4 µg/m³2025-11-26: 38.2 µg/m³2025-11-27: 40.6 µg/m³2025-11-28: 43.4 µg/m³2025-11-29: 48.9 µg/m³2025-11-30: 29.8 µg/m³2025-12-01: 18.3 µg/m³2025-12-02: 14.8 µg/m³2025-12-03: 22.9 µg/m³2025-12-04: 12.8 µg/m³2025-12-05: 11.4 µg/m³2025-12-06: 14.8 µg/m³2025-12-07: 10.5 µg/m³2025-12-08: 14.7 µg/m³2025-12-09: 21.6 µg/m³2025-12-10: 22.6 µg/m³2025-12-11: 13.9 µg/m³2025-12-12: 7.5 µg/m³2025-12-13: 15.7 µg/m³2025-12-14: 12.4 µg/m³2025-12-15: 11.9 µg/m³2025-12-16: 14.3 µg/m³2025-12-17: 18.4 µg/m³2025-12-18: 11.1 µg/m³2025-12-19: 11.6 µg/m³2025-12-20: 15.3 µg/m³2025-12-21: 13.5 µg/m³2025-12-22: 9.2 µg/m³2025-12-23: 6.4 µg/m³2025-12-24: 7.9 µg/m³2025-12-25: 8.2 µg/m³2025-12-26: 4.1 µg/m³2025-12-27: 2.6 µg/m³2025-12-28: 1.4 µg/m³2025-12-29: 3.9 µg/m³2025-12-30: 5.4 µg/m³2025-12-31: 10.6 µg/m³2026-01-01: 12.4 µg/m³2026-01-02: 12.6 µg/m³2026-01-03: 13.9 µg/m³2026-01-04: 24.8 µg/m³2026-01-05: 25.4 µg/m³2026-01-06: 26.7 µg/m³2026-01-07: 27.1 µg/m³2026-01-08: 24.5 µg/m³2026-01-09: 22.5 µg/m³2026-01-10: 8.5 µg/m³2026-01-11: 17.9 µg/m³2026-01-12: 18.0 µg/m³2026-01-13: 16.4 µg/m³2026-01-14: 25.2 µg/m³2026-01-15: 25.8 µg/m³2026-01-16: 20.7 µg/m³2026-01-17: 21.8 µg/m³2026-01-18: 21.5 µg/m³2026-01-19: no data2026-01-20: 14.8 µg/m³2026-01-21: 4.7 µg/m³2026-01-22: 10.9 µg/m³2026-01-23: no data2026-01-24: no data2026-01-25: no data2026-01-26: no data2026-01-27: no data2026-01-28: no data2026-01-29: no data2026-01-30: no data2026-01-31: 14.4 µg/m³2026-02-01: 21.0 µg/m³2026-02-02: 10.9 µg/m³2026-02-03: 9.5 µg/m³2026-02-04: 15.5 µg/m³2026-02-05: 25.5 µg/m³2026-02-06: 10.6 µg/m³2026-02-07: 30.8 µg/m³2026-02-08: 22.0 µg/m³2026-02-09: 19.8 µg/m³2026-02-10: 6.7 µg/m³2026-02-11: 13.5 µg/m³2026-02-12: 17.6 µg/m³2026-02-13: 21.6 µg/m³2026-02-14: 4.9 µg/m³2026-02-15: 5.7 µg/m³2026-02-16: 1.1 µg/m³2026-02-17: 3.7 µg/m³2026-02-18: 8.1 µg/m³2026-02-19: 18.1 µg/m³2026-02-20: 13.6 µg/m³2026-02-21: 14.6 µg/m³2026-02-22: 9.2 µg/m³2026-02-23: 10.7 µg/m³2026-02-24: 21.2 µg/m³2026-02-25: 28.8 µg/m³2026-02-26: 15.7 µg/m³2026-02-27: no data2026-02-28: no data2026-03-01: no data2026-03-02: 2.7 µg/m³2026-03-03: 2.3 µg/m³2026-03-04: 4.7 µg/m³2026-03-05: 9.2 µg/m³2026-03-06: 9.0 µg/m³2026-03-07: 6.4 µg/m³2026-03-08: 4.6 µg/m³2026-03-09: 2.4 µg/m³2026-03-10: 2.1 µg/m³2026-03-11: 1.7 µg/m³2026-03-12: 1.5 µg/m³2026-03-13: 2.8 µg/m³2026-03-14: 1.4 µg/m³2026-03-15: 2.1 µg/m³2026-03-16: 5.0 µg/m³2026-03-17: 2.0 µg/m³2026-03-18: 7.0 µg/m³2026-03-19: 5.9 µg/m³2026-03-20: 8.3 µg/m³2026-03-21: 5.7 µg/m³2026-03-22: 6.2 µg/m³2026-03-23: 5.9 µg/m³2026-03-24: 5.7 µg/m³2026-03-25: 10.8 µg/m³2026-03-26: 18.9 µg/m³2026-03-27: 12.3 µg/m³2026-03-28: 23.2 µg/m³2026-03-29: 14.2 µg/m³2026-03-30: 14.6 µg/m³2026-03-31: 17.8 µg/m³2026-04-01: 6.0 µg/m³2026-04-02: 1.7 µg/m³2026-04-03: 4.6 µg/m³2026-04-04: 3.9 µg/m³2026-04-05: 5.7 µg/m³2026-04-06: 13.5 µg/m³2026-04-07: 11.7 µg/m³2026-04-08: 6.2 µg/m³2026-04-09: 5.3 µg/m³2026-04-10: 11.5 µg/m³2026-04-11: 13.4 µg/m³2026-04-12: 14.8 µg/m³2026-04-13: 12.6 µg/m³2026-04-14: 11.7 µg/m³2026-04-15: 21.5 µg/m³2026-04-16: 21.8 µg/m³2026-04-17: 24.4 µg/m³2026-04-18: 17.6 µg/m³2026-04-19: 12.1 µg/m³2026-04-20: 14.9 µg/m³2026-04-21: 15.0 µg/m³2026-04-22: 16.8 µg/m³2026-04-23: 20.5 µg/m³2026-04-24: 13.7 µg/m³2026-04-25: 27.3 µg/m³2026-04-26: 24.6 µg/m³2026-04-27: 26.9 µg/m³2026-04-28: 18.7 µg/m³2026-04-29: 11.4 µg/m³2026-04-30: 27.4 µg/m³2026-05-01: 39.0 µg/m³2026-05-02: 31.0 µg/m³2026-05-03: 25.4 µg/m³2026-05-04: 25.3 µg/m³2026-05-05: 18.1 µg/m³2026-05-06: 14.9 µg/m³2026-05-07: 18.1 µg/m³2026-05-08: 21.1 µg/m³2026-05-09: 22.5 µg/m³2026-05-10: 10.5 µg/m³2026-05-11: 12.7 µg/m³2026-05-12: 25.2 µg/m³2026-05-13: 31.0 µg/m³2026-05-14: 23.2 µg/m³2026-05-15: 28.7 µg/m³2026-05-16: 26.7 µg/m³2026-05-17: 12.8 µg/m³2026-05-18: 3.0 µg/m³2026-05-19: 5.5 µg/m³2026-05-20: 8.7 µg/m³2026-05-21: 14.0 µg/m³2026-05-22: 15.4 µg/m³2026-05-23: 15.2 µg/m³2026-05-24: 10.4 µg/m³2026-05-25: 12.1 µg/m³2026-05-26: 23.1 µg/m³2026-05-27: 44.3 µg/m³2026-05-28: 21.0 µg/m³2026-05-29: 24.4 µg/m³2026-05-30: 14.7 µg/m³2026-05-31: 6.7 µg/m³2026-06-01: 12.2 µg/m³2026-06-02: 24.0 µg/m³2026-06-03: 29.2 µg/m³2026-06-04: 20.0 µg/m³2026-06-05: 19.5 µg/m³2026-06-06: 27.4 µg/m³2026-06-07: 35.2 µg/m³2026-06-08: 38.9 µg/m³2026-06-09: 47.9 µg/m³2026-06-10: 16.6 µg/m³2026-06-11: 14.4 µg/m³2026-06-12: 32.5 µg/m³2026-06-13: 32.2 µg/m³2026-06-14: 18.3 µg/m³2026-06-15: 31.7 µg/m³2026-06-16: 26.2 µg/m³2026-06-17: 30.8 µg/m³2026-06-18: 27.8 µg/m³2026-06-19: 30.4 µg/m³2026-06-20: 20.7 µg/m³2026-06-21: 20.2 µg/m³2026-06-22: 16.2 µg/m³2026-06-23: 27.6 µg/m³2026-06-24: 26.7 µg/m³2026-06-25: 16.4 µg/m³2026-06-26: 19.0 µg/m³2026-06-27: 26.5 µg/m³2026-06-28: 29.6 µg/m³2026-06-29: 32.0 µg/m³2026-06-30: 31.9 µg/m³2026-07-01: 24.7 µg/m³2026-07-02: 32.0 µg/m³2026-07-03: 39.8 µg/m³2026-07-04: 32.8 µg/m³2026-07-05: 23.0 µg/m³2026-07-06: 17.7 µg/m³2026-07-07: 17.1 µg/m³2026-07-08: 26.8 µg/m³2026-07-09: 37.2 µg/m³2026-07-10: 44.2 µg/m³2026-07-11: 40.3 µg/m³2026-07-12: 36.8 µg/m³2026-07-13: 41.9 µg/m³2026-07-14: 58.2 µg/m³2026-07-15: 57.8 µg/m³2026-07-16: 53.2 µg/m³2026-07-17: 26.0 µg/m³2026-07-18: 42.5 µg/m³2026-07-19: 45.0 µg/m³2026-07-20: 48.2 µg/m³2026-07-21: 46.4 µg/m³2026-07-22: 53.3 µg/m³2026-07-23: 55.4 µg/m³2026-07-24: 44.8 µg/m³2026-07-25: 40.4 µg/m³2026-07-26: 6.7 µg/m³2026-07-27: 19.7 µg/m³2026-07-28: 22.8 µg/m³2026-07-29: 32.1 µg/m³2026-07-30: 39.1 µg/m³2026-07-31: 34.8 µg/m³2026-08-01: 41.0 µg/m³2026-08-02: 19.5 µg/m³2026-08-03: 25.2 µg/m³2026-08-04: 35.9 µg/m³2026-08-05: 51.4 µg/m³2026-08-06: 57.4 µg/m³2026-08-07: 59.8 µg/m³2026-08-08: 59.9 µg/m³2026-08-09: 46.6 µg/m³2026-08-10: 37.9 µg/m³2026-08-11: 49.9 µg/m³2026-08-12: 68.1 µg/m³2026-08-13: 18.8 µg/m³2026-08-14: 8.0 µg/m³2026-08-15: 12.0 µg/m³2026-08-16: 17.4 µg/m³2026-08-17: 17.7 µg/m³2026-08-18: 34.3 µg/m³2026-08-19: 30.8 µg/m³2026-08-20: 36.8 µg/m³2026-08-21: 35.9 µg/m³2026-08-22: 52.0 µg/m³2026-08-23: 59.7 µg/m³2026-08-24: 44.6 µg/m³2026-08-25: 58.5 µg/m³2026-08-26: 68.9 µg/m³2026-08-27: 40.2 µg/m³2026-08-28: 50.1 µg/m³2026-08-29: 32.8 µg/m³2026-08-30: 40.1 µg/m³2026-08-31: 91.1 µg/m³2026-09-01: 141.0 µg/m³2026-09-02: 105.0 µg/m³2026-09-03: 80.8 µg/m³2026-09-04: 64.4 µg/m³2026-09-05: 91.5 µg/m³2026-09-06: 119.0 µg/m³2026-09-07: 69.0 µg/m³2026-09-08: 27.9 µg/m³2026-09-09: 19.6 µg/m³2026-09-10: 34.0 µg/m³2026-09-11: 54.1 µg/m³2026-09-12: 91.4 µg/m³2026-09-13: 121.0 µg/m³2026-09-14: 116.0 µg/m³2026-09-15: 116.0 µg/m³2026-09-16: 75.3 µg/m³2026-09-17: 38.7 µg/m³2026-09-18: 53.8 µg/m³2026-09-19: 90.0 µg/m³2026-09-20: 61.0 µg/m³2026-09-21: 58.7 µg/m³2026-09-22: 75.0 µg/m³2026-09-23: 47.2 µg/m³2026-09-24: 70.1 µg/m³2026-09-25: 43.2 µg/m³2026-09-26: 64.2 µg/m³2026-09-27: 49.1 µg/m³2026-09-28: 60.5 µg/m³2026-09-29: 63.9 µg/m³2026-09-30: 29.6 µg/m³
Good 0–9.0Moderate 9.1+Unhealthy for sensitive groups 35.5+Unhealthy 55.5+Very unhealthy 125.5+Hazardous 225.5+No data

240 of 352 measured days were over the WHO 24-hour guideline.

Daily world rank

#1#2254OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep

Rank on each day's board (1 = most polluted city that day).

2026 against 2025, month by month

15Jan 2026: 18.7 µg/m³JanFeb 2026: 14.6 µg/m³FebMar 2026: 7.2 µg/m³MarApr 2026: 14.6 µg/m³AprMay 2026: 19.5 µg/m³MayJun 2026: 26.1 µg/m³JunJul 2026: 36.8 µg/m³JulAug 2026: 42.0 µg/m³AugSep 2025: 82.1 µg/m³Sep 2026: 71.0 µg/m³SepOct 2025: 54.2 µg/m³OctNov 2025: 36.1 µg/m³NovDec 2025: 11.9 µg/m³Dec

Faded bars: 2025. A month shows once it has 10 measured days.

This week against past years

This weekThis week: 54.4 µg/m³54.420252025: 76.2 µg/m³76.2

Mean PM2.5 for 24 Sept to 30 Sept in each year. Dashed line: WHO 24-hour guideline.

Monitors

StationOperatorType
NamiwawaCC BY 4.0Shift iTLow-cost
ChichiriCC BY 4.0MUBAS Air QualityLow-cost
MUBASCC BY 4.0MUBAS Air QualityLow-cost
Blantyre, CBDCC BY 4.0MUBAS Air QualityLow-cost
Chichiri Shopping MallCC BY 4.0MUBAS Air QualityLow-cost
CBD, LimbeCC BY 4.0MUBAS Air QualityLow-cost
BloomBox NBSSCC BY 4.0AirGradientLow-cost

No reference monitor here, so the value is the median of low-cost sensors (at least two reporting each hour). Low-cost sensors can read high in humid air. Data via OpenAQ; licences as listed. How we rank. Embed this on your site.

Other cities in Malawi

Lilongwe 65.3Zomba 61.4Karonga 40.7Mzuzu 36.5

30-day averages, µg/m³. All of Malawi →

Updated 2026-10-01 06:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 in µg/m³ (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors.