Air Quality Lab — Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Air Quality Profile·
Pietermaritzburg reports an annual PM2.5 of 16.5 µg/m³. That's meaningfully above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ yet within the EU annual limit of 25 µg/m³.
Pietermaritzburg
South Africa
South AfricaAnnual Average
ModerateWHO annual classification
16.5µg/m³
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
PM2.5
1111 µg/m³ — Fair
1111 µg/m³ — Fair
1313 µg/m³ — Fair
1212 µg/m³ — Fair
2020 µg/m³ — Moderate
2525 µg/m³ — Moderate
2828 µg/m³ — Poor
2020 µg/m³ — Moderate
1919 µg/m³ — Moderate
1515 µg/m³ — Fair
1313 µg/m³ — Fair
1111 µg/m³ — Fair
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
1111 µg/m³ — Fair
1111 µg/m³ — Fair
1313 µg/m³ — Fair
1212 µg/m³ — Fair
2020 µg/m³ — Moderate
2525 µg/m³ — Moderate
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2828 µg/m³ — Poor
2020 µg/m³ — Moderate
1919 µg/m³ — Moderate
1515 µg/m³ — Fair
1313 µg/m³ — Fair
1111 µg/m³ — Fair
Best months: Jan–Feb, DecWorst months: Jun–Aug
Fair10–15 µg/m³Moderate15–25 µg/m³Poor25–35 µg/m³
Based on WUSTL PM2.5 dataset (2020–2024) · WHO 2021 thresholds
Confidence: ●●●
How air quality compares
Compared across South Africa
Pietermaritzburg: 16.5 µg/m³. Typical range in South Africa: 12.8–23.3 µg/m³. Low anchor: Port Elizabeth, 7.3 µg/m³. High anchor: Diepsloot, 162.1 µg/m³.
265 cities tracked