SmogRank / World / Africa / South Africa / KwaZulu-Natal
Most polluted cities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
1 measured city, this year; 1 above the WHO annual guideline. The only one: Shakaskraal at 14.8 µg/m³, #575 in the world.
About 2.45K people in this city 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.
Cities coloured by their PM2.5 over the last 24 hours. Fires, smoke and ash: Oct 5, the newest UTC day mapped.
- 1Shakaskraallow-cost sensors 2.45K
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
Estimated: cities without a monitor
KwaZulu-Natal 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.
| City | 7-day estimate |
|---|---|
| Newcastle | ≈ 9 µg/m³ |
| KwaDukuza | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Vryheid | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Ladysmith | ≈ 10 µg/m³ |
| Mpumalanga | ≈ 11 µg/m³ |
| Ntuzuma | ≈ 10 µg/m³ |
| Dundee | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Kokstad | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Mondlo | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| eSikhaleni | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Mandeni | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Margate | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Wembesi | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Mtubatuba | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Empangeni | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Howick | ≈ 10 µg/m³ |
| Richmond | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Ulundi | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Mpophomeni | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Ballitoville | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Estcourt | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Scottburgh | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Greytown | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Mooi River | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Glencoe | ≈ 13 µg/m³ |
| eMkhomazi | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Ncotshane | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| eMuziwezinto | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Eshowe | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Ga-Malakhe | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Frischgewaagd | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
Use this board
SmogRank, most polluted cities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, PM2.5, this year to 7 Oct 2026, 00:00 UTC, smogrank.com/za/region/kwazulu-natal?w=year.
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 2026-10-07 00:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.