SmogRank / South Africa / Limpopo / Phalaborwa

Phalaborwa, month by month

Phalaborwa has a measured daily mean on 51 days since 12 August 2026. Its worst month was September 2026, at 65 US AQI (16.5 µg/m³), 334th of 2,981 cities on that month's world ranking.

Every month since 2026

2026too few days for a mean (a year needs 200)51 days measured
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug15 daysSep65#334Oct53#624
Each square is a month's mean PM2.5 in US AQI from Phalaborwa's measured days, with its place on that month's world ranking under it. A month has a mean once 70% of its days are measured, the rule the monthly rankings use; under that, the square gives the days measured. Each square opens that month's ranking with Phalaborwa marked; each year, the year's. A dashed square is the running month, so far.
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

Months without a mean, and why

1 month
MonthWhy
Aug 202615 of 31 days measured; a month needs 22. The others: 5 with under 18 hours of readings or readings that failed our checks.

A day counts once 18 hours of it are measured; a month needs 70% of its days.

Phalaborwa's worst months

MonthUS AQIDays measuredWorld rankEpisode
September 2026 6516.5 µg/m³24 of 30334thof 2,981North-eastern South Africa and Zimbabwe, September 2026

Monthly means over the days measured; finished months only. World rank: its place on that month's world ranking of every city with enough days. Each month opens that ranking.

Phalaborwa's worst days

DayUS AQIEpisode
16 Sept 2026 16069.0 µg/m³North-eastern South Africa and Zimbabwe, September 2026
4 Sept 2026 14252.2 µg/m³–
17 Sept 2026 9231.0 µg/m³North-eastern South Africa and Zimbabwe, September 2026
22 Aug 2026 8326.3 µg/m³–
24 Sept 2026 8326.1 µg/m³–
27 Sept 2026 7924.0 µg/m³–
23 Aug 2026 7722.8 µg/m³–
26 Aug 2026 7722.8 µg/m³–
12 Sept 2026 7220.5 µg/m³–
21 Aug 2026 7119.9 µg/m³–

Daily means, the highest since 12 Aug 2026; the WHO's daily guideline is 15 µg/m³. Each date opens that day's world ranking, and each episode the bad-air spell it was part of.

Use this history

SmogRank, PM2.5 monthly and daily means, Phalaborwa, South Africa, 12 Aug 2026 – 12 Oct 2026. Monitor data from SAAQIS (South Africa's Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment) via OpenAQ; sources listed at smogrank.com/sources. smogrank.com/za/phalaborwa/history (accessed 12 Oct 2026).

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Phalaborwa now: the last 24 hours, its ranks today and the last 12 months day by day.

Updated 2026-10-12 22:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index. Some low-cost readings: Sensor.Community, ODbL (data and licence). Some readings: Uzhydromet (Uzbekistan's Hydrometeorological Service); Department of Environment, Nepal; Vietnam's government monitors; Aurassure; Umhverfisstofnun (Environment Agency of Iceland); RMCAB (Secretaría Distrital de Ambiente, Bogotá); Love My Air (City and County of Denver), no reuse terms published (why we use them).