Air Quality
Weekly Air Quality Update in Sri Lanka
Here, we summarize the current air quality in Sri Lanka including our weekly summary and the archives of these and some basic explanations.
Summary
Summary for 05 – 11 January 2026 :
From 05–07 January (especially 06 and 07 January), air quality across Sri Lanka worsened, with many areas recording Unhealthy and Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups AQI levels. Several locations, including Akurana, Digana, Mirihana, Battaramulla, Chilaw, Mannar, Trincomalee, Jaffna, and Anuradhapura, recorded Unhealthy daily AQI values on these days.
The poor air quality was linked to polluted air carried by winds from the Bay of Bengal. From 08–11 January, air quality improved slightly as weather conditions changed due to a deep depression near the Bay of Bengal, helping to disperse the polluted air. During this period, AQI levels ranged from Good to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.
Based on weekly averages, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo, Mirihana, Battaramulla, Chilaw, Mannar, Trincomalee, Jaffna, and Anuradhapura recorded Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups AQI levels, while other areas remained Moderate.
Weekly Air Quality Index (AQI) Levels:
- Moderate (AQI 51–100): Akurana-AV-Outdoor, Digana, Kurunegala, Negombo, Ambalangoda, Ambalantota
- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI 101–150): Nuwara Eliya, Colombo(Gregory’s Road), Mirihana(Cleanco), Battaramulla(CEA), Chilaw(CEA), Mannar, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Anuradhapura
Weekly Air Quality Highlights
Air Quality Card
This page is based on our more detailed descriptions available at www.cleanair.lk
What is Air Quality?
Air quality is a measure of the level of air pollution. Polluted air consists of both particulate matter of fine dimensions and gaseous matter. The presence of these impurities decreases the pureness of the air we breathe.
How is it Estimated?
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has set up a standard to measure the impact on AQ by the following 5 major air pollutants:
- Ground- level ozone (O3)
- Particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10)
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
The AQI standard for ozone and particle pollution according to US EPA comprises of six categories. Each category is assigned a specific colour and corresponds to a different level of health concern. As the scale grows the air quality turns from good to extremely unhealthy.
© US EPA
Air Quality Monitoring
In Sri Lanka, the quality of air has been deteriorating in urban locales, in places close to industries and in places with biomass burning. The rate of deterioration is significantly high in areas of heavy traffic. This leaves communities residing in the areas vulnerable to the health impacts of air pollution.
Note, not all instruments shall be updating data due to connectivity issues. Above, you can find map based pointers to access these data.
In this page, we present real-time updates of air quality at:
- Akurana
- Colombo
- Digana
- Illanthandiya
- Nawalapitiya
- Norochcholai
- Puttalam
Our Contributions
We are:
- Diagnosing historical air pollution data for diurnal variations, seasonality and inter-annual variation for Colombo, Kandy, Puttalam and other urban areas
- Assessing the relationship with climate variation
- Modeling the transport of air pollution in Sri Lanka and the region
- Obtaining air quality data on particulates and carbon dioxide in 10 stations in real time in a network which covers Colombo, Kandy, Nawalapitiya, Puttalam so far
- Maintaining an online updated repository of air quality data
- Working with partners on assessing health impacts
- Developing an updated air quality map