Get a monitor and contributor to air quality data in your city.
293.2K people follow this city
AIR QUALITY DATA CONTRIBUTORS
Find out more about contributors and data sourcesIndex | None | ||
Tree pollen | None | ||
Grass pollen | None | ||
Weed pollen | None |
Weather | Scattered clouds |
Temperature | 59Ā°F |
Humidity | 62% |
Wind | 10.4 mp/h |
Pressure | 30.5 Hg |
# | city | US AQI |
---|---|---|
1 | Spencer Gulf, South Australia | 61 |
2 | Townsville, Queensland | 27 |
3 | Geelong, Victoria | 24 |
4 | Singleton, New South Wales | 22 |
5 | Gladstone, Queensland | 21 |
6 | Melbourne, Victoria | 18 |
7 | Canberra, ACT | 17 |
8 | Newcastle, New South Wales | 16 |
9 | Perth, Western Australia | 15 |
10 | Bathurst, New South Wales | 14 |
(local time)
SEE WORLD AQI RANKING# | station | US AQI |
---|---|---|
1 | Mooroolbark | 41 |
2 | Booth Street | 25 |
3 | Spotswood | 25 |
4 | Beacon Vista 2 | 24 |
5 | Braid Street | 23 |
6 | Jamieson Street | 23 |
7 | Marshall Road | 22 |
8 | Alma Street | 21 |
9 | Gorman Drive | 21 |
10 | Narooma Place | 21 |
(local time)
SEE WORLD AQI RANKINGUS AQI
17
live AQI index
Good
Air pollution level | Air quality index | Main pollutant |
---|---|---|
Good | 17 US AQI | PM2.5 |
Pollutants | Concentration | |
---|---|---|
PM2.5 | 4.2Āµg/mĀ³ | |
PM10 | 4.9Āµg/mĀ³ | |
O3 | 9Āµg/mĀ³ |
PM2.5 concentration in Melbourne air currently meets the WHO annual air quality guideline value
Enjoy outdoor activities | |
Open your windows to bring clean, fresh air indoors GET A MONITOR |
Day | Pollution level | Weather | Temperature | Wind |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sunday, Apr 28 | Good 41 AQI US | 69.8Ā° 50Ā° | 11.2 mp/h | |
Monday, Apr 29 | Good 15 AQI US | 59Ā° 53.6Ā° | 8.9 mp/h | |
Tuesday, Apr 30 | Good 11 AQI US | 57.2Ā° 51.8Ā° | 11.2 mp/h | |
Today | Good 17 AQI US | 62.6Ā° 48.2Ā° | 8.9 mp/h | |
Thursday, May 2 | Good 33 AQI US | 60.8Ā° 48.2Ā° | 6.7 mp/h | |
Friday, May 3 | Good 30 AQI US | 62.6Ā° 48.2Ā° | 4.5 mp/h | |
Saturday, May 4 | Good 22 AQI US | 60.8Ā° 46.4Ā° | 4.5 mp/h | |
Sunday, May 5 | Good 42 AQI US | 62.6Ā° 48.2Ā° | 8.9 mp/h | |
Monday, May 6 | Good 33 AQI US | 62.6Ā° 46.4Ā° | 4.5 mp/h | |
Tuesday, May 7 | Good 22 AQI US | 69.8Ā° 51.8Ā° | 4.5 mp/h |
Interested in hourly forecast? Get the app
Similarly to much of Australia, Melbourne generally experiences relatively healthy air in global comparison to other major cities. However, like many other Australian regions, the capital of Victoria state is also subject to occasional extreme air pollution events, which can pose significant health risks to its almost 5 million residents. Such extreme events notably include bushfires, which typically occur on an annual basis around various parts of Australia. While Melbourneās annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was a relatively low 6.5 Ī¼g/m3 during 2019, meeting both the Australian and World Health Organisation annual targets (8 Ī¼g/m3 and 10 Ī¼g/m3 respectively), the devastating Australian bushfires of 2019-2020 led the city to experience extremely high levels of air pollution, creating an extraordinary contrast.1 Melbourne air pollution briefly registered as the highest in the world, with āHazardousā levels of PM2.5 peaking at 470 Ī¼g/m3 during 14 January 2020.2 During that same day, Melbourneās PM2.5 levels recorded a 24 hour average level of 234 Ī¼g/m3, which exceeds both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Australian governmentās shared 24-hour exposure limit of 25 Ī¼g/m3, by almost 10 times.1
Aside from short-term pollution events, Melbourne air quality also experiences relatively low, but persistent levels of a range of pollutants year-round. Common outdoor air pollutants in the Victoria region include carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), and particulate matter measuring a diameter of less than 2.5 or 10 microns (abbreviated to PM2.5 and PM10, respectively).3 Among these, PM2.5 and ozone are the main pollutants of concern for their impact on human health. This is due to PM2.5ās continuous presence in the air (even at relatively low levels), and the numerous sources that it can be emitted from.3 For ozone, this is due to concerns that the pollutant could increase over time with growing populations and rising temperatures.3
Real-time updates on Melbourne air pollution area shown at the top of this page, together with a 7-day air quality forecast. The dynamic air quality map also indicates live wildfire updates along with air quality information.
The health impacts of exposure to PM2.5 include increasing peopleās risk of developing cardiovascular disease, respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer, while short-term effects can also include aggravation of asthma, and eye, nose and throat irritation.4 Meanwhile, exposure to ozone increases risk of asthma-related morbidity and mortality.4 Victoriaās Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has estimated that the health impacts resulting from exposure toVictoria air pollution across Melbourneās state, cost the state an enormous $420 to $600 million (AUD, equivalent to $300 to $427 million USD) from pollution generated by the electricity sector in one year alone. Health impacts from transport-related air pollution were estimated to cost an even larger $660 million to $1.5 billion (AUD), based on 2005 data (equivalent to $470 million to $1.07 billion USD).3
Australia air quality is subject to some of the strictest standards in the world, which Melbourne air pollution is also governed by. The country targets an annual average PM2.5 limit of 8 Ī¼g/m3, which is lower than both the World Health Organisationās standard (10 Ī¼g/m3), American standard (12 Ī¼g/m3) and European standard (25 Ī¼g/m3). This reflects how on the whole, Australian pollution levels are relatively low by global standards. However, the WHO emphasises that there is no āsafeā level of PM2.5 exposure below which no health impacts can be observed.4
In Melbourneās state of Victoria, the main sources of air pollution are motor vehicles, power generation, and smoke from wood heaters, planned burning and bushfires.3 Future trends such as anticipated climate change and population growth are expected to increase emissions of pollutants from domestic and business activities (such as heating), and temperature-related activities. Melbourne and Geelongās population is expected to grow by 45% between 2006 and 2030, while greater Melbourneās population is predicted to reach 8 million by 2051. This growth will stimulate a larger share of demand for energy-related activities such as heating, and associated emissions. Regarding climate change, particulate matter is forecast to increase in future as a warmer and drier climate drives more bushfires and dust storms, while rising temperatures can also drive higher levels of ozone, which is formulated in sunlight and tends to be more prevalent during summer months.5 Conversely, improvements in vehicle exhaust emission technologies and increasing uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) is predicted to result in decreasing levels of transport-related pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen dioxide in future.5
While Melbourneās winter months generally show improved air quality compared to the bushfire-prone summer months each year, on the whole, levels of fine particulate matter in Melbourne have shown a slight trend of increasing during the past 3 years. In 2019, Melbourneās annual average concentration of PM2.5 was 6.5 Ī¼g/m3, slightly above 2018ās annual average (5.8 Ī¼g/m3) and 2017ās annual average (5.4 Ī¼g/m3).1 This may reflect the trend outlined above, that population growth, climate change and increasing temperatures may increase levels of particulate matter over time. A similar increasing trend was also observed inSydney air quality (2019, 10.1 Ī¼g/m3; 2018, 7.6 Ī¼g/m3; 2017, 7.1 Ī¼g/m3), andNewcastle air pollution (2019, 12.5 Ī¼g/m3; 2018, 7.9 Ī¼g/m3; 2017, 7.4 Ī¼g/m3).1 However, in the short-term, experts suggest that since the extensive bushfires of 2019-2020 burned up so much āfuelā (in the form of trees, forest and dead plant material), the affected areas such as Melbourne may not experience bushfires to the same extent during the subsequent 3 to 5 years, while these resources are recovering.6
The Victoria Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for managing air pollution within the Victoria state, with the aim of achieving Australiaās broader national air quality objectives and standards. The Australian air quality standards are known as the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measures (NEPM). The Victoria EPA runs a network of air quality monitors, and prior to November 2019, it followed the Australian Air Quality Index system to communicate levels of health hazard to the public.7
While the nationwide AQI system would calculate a Melbourne Air Quality Index as a percentage of the NEPM standards, whereby an AQI of ā100ā represents the maximum allowable amount of a specified pollutant, and AQI numbers above 100 represent an exceedance; the Victoria EPA now uses a different system. Rather than a Melbourne AQI number, the Victoria EPA instead communicates health hazard using āair quality categoriesā, where 0-50 indicates āGoodā, and 300 and above indicates āHazardousā air quality.
Victoriaās EPA also implements a range of initiatives aimed at reducing air pollution emissions from transport. These include the Australia-wide Environment Protection (Vehicle Emissions) Regulations of 2013, which impose regulation on both air and noise emissions from vehicles; enforcing the Australian Design Rules (ADRs), a set of national rules that require domestically manufactured or imported vehicles to meet requirements, including exhaust emission standards; and also implementing the national fuel quality standards, in addition to the National Environment Protection Measures (NEPM) which aim to reduce diesel emissions.8
During the 2019-2020 bushfires across Australia, colloquially referred to as the āblack summerā, Melbourneās state Victoria was the second-worst hit state in Australia, following its neighbour New South Wales.9 Although Australia has long had a fire season, with bushfires happening annually as a result of natural lightning strikes, or through human action such as accidental sparks or planned burning, the fires of the black summer were particularly bad due to record-breaking temperatures and months of drought.8 During the black summer, 1.2 million hectares of land were burned across Victoria, and the fires resulted in high levels of smoke pollution in Melbourne, posing a hazard to human health.2,8
+ Article resources
[1] IQAir. ā2019 World Air Quality Reportā. IQAir website, March 18, 2020.
[2] Matt Woodley. āāHazardousā Melbourne air considered worst in the worldā. RACGP, January 14, 2020.
[3] Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). āEstimating the health costs of air pollution in Victoriaā. Victoria government website, 2018.
[4] World Health Organisation. āAmbient (outdoor) air pollutionā. WHO website, May 2, 2020.
[5] Victoria DELWP. āClean Air Fact Shee: Air pollution sources, impacts and trends.ā Victoria government DELWP website, 2018.
[6] Kevin Tolhurst. āItās 12 months since the last bushfire season began, but donāt expect the same this yearā. The Conversation, June 10, 2020.
[7] Victoria EPA. āHow we calculate air quality categoriesā. Victoria EPA website, n.d.
[8] EPA Victoria. āHow we improve vehicle emissionsā. EPA Victoria website, June 12, 2020.
[9] BBC. āAustralia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisisā. BBC website, January 31, 2020.
29Contributors
Government Contributor
Individual Contributor
1 station
27 Anonymous Contributors
27 stations
3 Data sources