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Air quality in Ireland

An air quality index (AQI) is a number used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. As the AQI increases, an increasingly large percentage of the population is likely to experience increasingly severe adverse health effects. Different countries have their own air quality indices, corresponding to different national air quality standards. For example,

  1. The Irish Environmental Protection Agency uses the Air Quality Index for Health (AQIH)
  2. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has developed their own Air Quality Index (AQI).

1. Air quality in Ireland Using the Air Quality Index for Health (AQIH)

AQIH map for the Republic of Ireland

Click on the map to show more information.

Disclaimer

Usage of this map and index constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions. The index is based on information from monitoring instruments at representative locations in each region. The index will not reflect local incidents of air pollution. Site-specific conditions may give a false index reading. The EPA is not liable for any consequences from decisions made based on this index.

For more details see EPA Air Quality

Overall status in Dublin using AQIH

Data from Air quality monitoring in Dublin

The above assessment is based on an agglomeration of Dublin air quality data from Shankill in south Dublin to Lucan in west Dublin to Swords in north Dublin. For more details of individual sites, see the current readings on the AQIH map at the bottom of this page.

All data is provided courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Air Quality Index for Health - Colour Coding

The Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index for Health (AQIH) is a number from one to 10 that tells you what the air quality currently is in a region and whether or not this might affect your health.

The AQIH is calculated every hour.

2. Using the US Air Quality Index (AQI)

The map below from PurpleAir uses the US Air Quality Index (AQI). It shows the location of the various sensors from PurpleAir members and their current readings. You can zoom in and out of this map.



Dublin Example Using the US Air Quality Index (AQI)

Details from St. Anne's Park monitoring station, Dublin 5

Air quality data is courtesy of the Ireland Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Station 52. St. Anne's Park, Dublin 5

Air monitoring in Raheny is located in St. Anne's Park. Monitoring is done using a continuous automated monitor for particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5.

What the numbers and colours mean

The numbers are the Air Quality Indexes, which are based on a scale from 0 (good) to 500 (bad).

Good
0-50
Moderate
51-100
Unhealthy for
Sensitive Groups
101-150
Unhealthy
151-200
Very Unhealthy
201-300
Hazardous
300-500

For more information about the pollutants included in the AQI scale, please refer to: