SmogRank / World / South Africa / KwaZulu-Natal / May 2024
Most people breathing unhealthy air in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, May 2024
1 city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa measured at 2 or more places, ranked by how many people breathed unhealthy air on an average day over the 31 days. The most people breathing unhealthy air: Shakaskraal, South Africa, about 8.79K on an average day. A city needs measurements on 70% of the days to be ranked.
About 8.79K people in this city breathed unhealthy air on an average day of May 2024.
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.
- 1Shakaskraallow-cost sensors 8.79K
Low-cost sensors: consumer units, counted only in cities with no government-grade monitor; they read close to reference monitors on the whole, but 15 to 25% high in humid air. How we use them.
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, May 2024 · All cities in South Africa, May 2024 · KwaZulu-Natal now
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SmogRank, most polluted cities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, by people breathing unhealthy air, PM2.5, May 2024, smogrank.com/za/region/kwazulu-natal/history/2024-05?by=people (accessed 7 Oct 2026).
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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.