Air
Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. The National Air Quality Platform displays information on air pollution. You can check the air quality in each area, learn about the health risks associated with each level of air quality and decide if a certain area is suitable to visit depending on the quality of air.
Air in the UAE
The UAE is committed to maintaining clean air and improving air quality to protect public health, the environment and quality of life. Air quality can be affected by natural factors such as dust and sandstorms, as well as human activities, including fuel combustion, transport, energy production and industrial activities.
The UAE monitors air quality across the country through the National Air Quality Platform, which provides real-time information from monitoring stations across the emirates. The platform uses the Air Quality Index (AQI) to show the level of air pollution and its potential health effects.
Read about the UAE National Air Quality Agenda.
Air Quality Index
Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. This index was developed by US Environment Protection Agency (US EPA). It considers five pollutants:
- ground-level ozone (O3)
- particulates (PM)
- sulfur dioxide (SO2)
- carbon monoxide (CO) and
- nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
The AQI tells us how clean or polluted the ambient air is, and what are the associated health effects.
The AQI is classified into six categories based on the score, where a lower number indicates better air quality. Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern as shown below:
- AQI of 0 - 50 is considered ‘Good’. This air is considered satisfactory and it poses little or no risk to health.
- AQI of 51 – 100 is considered ‘Moderate’. This air quality is acceptable. However, some pollutants may pose a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may experience respiratory symptoms.
- AQI of 101 – 150 is ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’. Although general public is not likely to be affected at this AQI range, people with lung disease, older adults and children are at a greater risk from exposure to ozone, whereas persons with heart and lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from the presence of particles in the air.
- AQI of 151 – 200 is ‘Unhealthy’. Everyone may begin to experience some adverse health effects, and members of the sensitive groups may experience more serious effects.
- AQI of 201 – 300 is ‘Very unhealthy’. This would trigger a health alert signifying that everyone may experience more serious health effects.
- AQI of greater than 300 is ‘Hazardous’. This would trigger a health warning of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.
How is the quality of air monitored? There are 2 methods for monitoring air quality. They involve automated and manual monitoring stations, which are also known as continuous and non-continuous stations respectively. Continuous monitoring stations are equipped with data analysers that draw air in through various tubes for continuous analysis. These analysers are attached to data acquisition systems, called data loggers. A central computer then draws information from the data loggers and incorporates these measurements into its databases. Manual sampling is chosen in some cases because it is easier and less expensive than automatic sampling, while producing equally valuable results. In manual sampling, filters or canisters sampling are placed in the field by technicians for a discrete period of time (such as 2 weeks), and then sent to registered laboratories where they are weighed and/or analysed to determine their content. The laboratory then uploads the data to a database.
National Air Quality Platform
The National Air Quality Platform shows the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the UAE in real-time. It displays information received from several monitoring stations across the UAE. You can check the air quality in each area, learn about the health risks associated with each level of air quality and decide if a certain area is suitable to visit depending on the quality of air.
Read more:
Updated on:
04 Sep 2026
