Air quality in August: cleanest & most polluted destinations

Where the air is cleanest — and worst — to travel in August, ranked by the monthly-mean US Air Quality Index (AQI) across 600+ destinations. Lower is better: 0–50 is good, 100+ starts to bite, 150+ is unhealthy. Tap any place for its full August weather and air-quality breakdown.

Worst air quality in August

  1. 1Kuwait City, KuwaitHazardous303AQI
  2. 2Ürümqi, ChinaUnhealthy180AQI
  3. 3Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaUnhealthy171AQI
  4. 4Manama, BahrainUnhealthy171AQI
  5. 5Hotan, ChinaUnhealthy171AQI
  6. 6Jakarta, IndonesiaUnhealthy168AQI
  7. 7Salalah, OmanUnhealthy161AQI
  8. 8Doha, QatarUnhealthy159AQI
  9. 9Dubai, United Arab EmiratesUnhealthy154AQI
  10. 10Beijing, ChinaUnhealthy154AQI
  11. 11Chengdu, ChinaUnhealthy151AQI
  12. 12Baghdad, IraqUnhealthy for sensitive groups149AQI
  13. 13Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesUnhealthy for sensitive groups144AQI
  14. 14Damascus, SyriaUnhealthy for sensitive groups140AQI
  15. 15Hangzhou, ChinaUnhealthy for sensitive groups133AQI

Cleanest air in August

  1. 1Kona, United StatesGood16AQI
  2. 2Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, United StatesGood17AQI
  3. 3Hilo, United StatesGood17AQI
  4. 4Pohnpei, MicronesiaGood17AQI
  5. 5Honiara, Solomon IslandsGood18AQI
  6. 6La Fortuna, Costa RicaGood19AQI
  7. 7Falls Creek, AustraliaGood20AQI
  8. 8Nadi, FijiGood20AQI
  9. 9Pai, ThailandGood20AQI
  10. 10Majuro, Marshall IslandsGood21AQI
  11. 11Mount Buller, AustraliaGood21AQI
  12. 12Anchorage, United StatesGood22AQI
  13. 13Christchurch, New ZealandGood22AQI
  14. 14Chuuk, MicronesiaGood22AQI
  15. 15Dunedin, New ZealandGood22AQI