SmogRank / World / South Africa / October 2026

Most polluted cities in South Africa, October 2026

34 cities in South Africa ranked by their average PM2.5 so far (1 of 31 days). Worst: Tzaneen at 40.4 µg/m³, #26 of 1,630 cities in the world. Cleanest: Hammanskraal at 0.4. A city needs measurements on 70% of the days to be ranked.

← Tzaneen 40.4 µg/m³ 40 µg/m³0
Every city in South Africa ranked for October 2026, one column each, worst on the left and cleanest on the right; height is PM2.5 in µg/m³. Point at it to read a city; tap to open it.
  1. 1TzaneenLimpopo
    113
  2. 2VereenigingGauteng
    83
  3. 3SasolburgFree State
    73
  4. 4LeslieMpumalanga
    68
  5. 5TokozaGauteng
    58
  6. 6WorcesterWestern Cape
    55
  7. 7BalfourMpumalanga
    54
  8. 8DurbanKwaZulu-Natal
    52
  9. 9eMbalenhleMpumalanga
    52
  10. 10ModimolleLimpopo
    51
  11. 11PietermaritzburgKwaZulu-Natal
    49
  12. 12KraaifonteinWestern Cape
    45
  13. 13PaarlWestern Cape
    44
  14. 14RiversdaleWestern Cape
    43
  15. 15Somerset WestWestern Cape
    42
  16. 16PinetownKwaZulu-Natal
    39
  17. 17Kuils RiverWestern Cape
    37
  18. 18SecundaMpumalanga
    37
  19. 19MarikanaNorth West
    35
  20. 20Cape TownWestern Cape
    34
  21. 21ThembisaGauteng
    33
  22. 22Port ShepstoneKwaZulu-Natal
    29
  23. 23CenturionGauteng
    27
  24. 23DurbanvilleWestern Cape
    27
  25. 25MalmesburyWestern Cape
    26
  26. 26PolokwaneLimpopo
    23
  27. 27AmandelbultLimpopo
    23
  28. 28HartbeespoortNorth West
    18
  29. 29MiddelburgMpumalanga
    17
  30. 30Shakaskraallow-cost sensorsKwaZulu-Natal
    16
  31. 31KrielMpumalanga
    14
  32. 32Richards BayKwaZulu-Natal
    13
  33. 33PhalaborwaLimpopo
    11
  34. 34HammanskraalNorth West
    2
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, October 2026 · South Africa now

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SmogRank, most polluted cities in South Africa, PM2.5, October 2026 (so far), smogrank.com/za/history/2026-10 (accessed 2 Oct 2026).

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