SmogRank / World / Oceania / New Zealand / Canterbury

Most polluted cities in Canterbury, New Zealand

4 measured cities, this year; 4 above the WHO annual guideline. Worst: Kaiapoi at 11.7 µg/m³, #742 in the world.

About 214 people in these 2 cities breathed unhealthy air on an average day so far this year.

Ranked by people: each city's population times its share of unhealthy days, those with a daily mean over 35.4 µg/m³ (US AQI 101+). That is how many people living there breathed unhealthy air on an average day. Only cities measured at 2 or more places at least 3 km apart are ranked: one monitor shouldn't speak for a whole city. Population is the city itself, not its wider metro area.

SouthlandMarlboroughTasman DistrictWest CoastOtago: 1 measured cityCanterbury: 4 measured citiesWellington Region#4 Christchurch: 8.7 µg/m³#3 Rangiora: 10.0 µg/m³#2 Timaru: 10.5 µg/m³#1 Kaiapoi: 11.7 µg/m³
Each dot is a measured city, coloured by its PM2.5; tap a dot to open the city.
  1. 1Timaru 214
  2. 2Christchurch 0
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

Estimated: cities without a monitor

Canterbury cities we can't measure, with model estimates for the last 7 days. Listed by population, not ranked: estimates aren't precise enough to rank. Model estimates from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), adjusted to measured cities nearby where there are any. Adjusted, a single day lands within ×1.5 of what a monitor would read about two times in three; unadjusted, it can be off by half or double. Treat them as a guide, not a measurement.

City7-day estimateBand
Rolleston≈ 9 µg/m³Good
Ashburton≈ 8 µg/m³Good

Use this board

SmogRank, most polluted cities in Canterbury, New Zealand, PM2.5, this year to 6 Oct 2026, 23:00 UTC, smogrank.com/nz/region/canterbury?w=year.

Download top 10 (PNG)

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.

Updated 2026-10-06 23:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.