Beirut Air Quality

A plain-language read on the fine-particle air over Beirut, updated through the day — with the diesel-generator story behind it.

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About these tools

Town Tools builds free, public tools for Beirut and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

Right now

Moderate Acceptable for almost everyone. A small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution may notice it.

Air quality index · US Air Quality Index (EPA)

US scale: under 50 is good, over 100 is unhealthy for sensitive groups

13.1 µg/m³

Fine particles (PM2.5)

The pollutant that matters most for health

14.8 µg/m³

Nitrogen dioxide

Mostly from traffic

88.0 µg/m³

Ozone

Forms on hot, sunny days

Day

Air quality

Tue 13 Oct

Moderate

Wed 14 Oct

Moderate

Thu 15 Oct

Moderate

Fri 16 Oct

Moderate

Worth knowing

The generators are part of the air we breathe

With the state grid (EDL) supplying only a few hours a day, most of Beirut runs on private neighbourhood generators — the ishtirak. That diesel exhaust is a documented health cost: researchers at the American University of Beirut found that running generators just a few hours a day roughly doubled the carcinogenic particles people breathe, and that diesel was the single biggest source of the city's fine particles. When the grid is off and your street is humming on diesel, the exhaust is in the air around you.

Summer AC, traffic, and still air stack up

The heaviest generator demand is the summer, when air conditioning runs across the city and the generators work hardest. Add Beirut's dense traffic, and the fine particles build up closest to the ground on still, windless days. A sea breeze off the Mediterranean clears the air through much of the day — it's the calm evenings, when the wind drops and the generators run, that often feel heaviest.

Who feels it first

Fine-particle pollution is hardest on children, older people, pregnant women, and anyone with asthma or a heart or lung condition. On a high-reading day it helps to keep hard outdoor exercise for a cleaner window, and to keep windows shut on a still evening when a generator nearby is running. Standing right beside a running generator, or in heavy traffic, is always worse than the area average.

This is a model, not a street monitor

Lebanon has no reliable public air-quality station network — the environment ministry's monitors have long gone dark — so this reading comes from a satellite-fed model of the area, not a sensor on your street. Treat it as a guide to the trend and the bad days, not a precise measurement of the air at your window.

Beirut Air Quality

About these tools

Right now

Next few days

Worth knowing

The generators are part of the air we breathe

Summer AC, traffic, and still air stack up

Who feels it first

This is a model, not a street monitor