Umweltbundesamt
Experts at the monitoring stations of the German states and the German Environment Agency take multiple daily measurements to determine the air quality in Germany. Shortly after measurements are taken, you can go to our “Current air data” webpage to look up measured values, some forecast data, and data on past years.
The "Overview" webpage provides a brief description and links to the following five sources of information:
Our Air quality index provides a picture of the air quality at the monitoring stations across Germany. The index is based on the measured concentrations of the pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone). The concentration with the poorest level of air quality determines the total index. The air quality index reflects an assessment of whether the air quality is hazardous to health.
The map shows an image of all the stations supplying data in the current calendar year. The legend indicates the air quality last measured at the station. Stations which do not take measurements of all three pollutants are shown as a circle with a grey shaded area.
The “Select station” menu lets you select settings making it possible to zoom in on the map of certain states or stations, or to display data for specific days and times. The “Nearest station” button zooms in on the monitoring station nearest to you, although you may first have to allow confirmation of your location.
Once you have selected a station by clicking on the map or selecting a station from the drop-drown menu under the “Station“ button, detailed information about the station will be shown, including air quality index, concentrations of measured air pollutants and health advice. A line graph is also featured at the bottom of the page.
The line graph shows the development of pollutant concentrations at the station in the week prior to the date set at the top. Dragging the mouse over the lines will show individual measured values. The dates displayed can be changed directly above the graph. You can also click on the “Download as CSV file” button below the graph to open files in Excel format. If you are unable to access the CSV files, please check whether a reading program for the file format has been installed on your workstation.
A pie chart will also be displayed for stations which have collected data for the past 100 days. The pie chart shows the percent share of the different categories of the air quality index (“very good“, “good“, etc.) measured during the past 100 days.
See the calculation base for more information on the index calculation.
Our maps provide an instant view of pollution levels for each of the six measured air pollutants in a specific region of Germany, on specific dates and sometimes even time of day. The maps are based on data from monitoring stations and are calculated for the area (interpolation). For ozone, a forecast is made for the current and following two days. The forecast maps are based on model calculations and actual measurement data.
You can set different filters for the map to show other pollutants, dates and sometimes times of day (depending on time scope of the measured air pollutant).
Use the slider to access maps of other days and times (if available). The 'play' keys below the slider run the maps in chronological order as a movie clip, either forward or backward in time to see the changes over time. Press 'Pause' at any time to stop the clip.
See below the map legend for further information, for example on limit or target values for the selected pollutant, how many stations in Germany exceeded these values at the selected time, and the highest and lowest of all measured values.
How are the maps drawn up? We explain in brief in our background information.
Look up detailed data for individual stations on our Stations page.
The map features an overview of all the stations supplying data in the current calendar year. Use the legend to see the measured concentration of the selected air pollutant at a given time.
Step 1: Select air quality data to select one of the five air pollutants and time scope (if available). You can also select certain days and times (according to time scope). Select a specific state or measuring network. Clicking on the "Nearest station" button lets you automatically determine and select the station nearest to you. Confirmation of your location may be required.
By clicking on the download button you can download all or some of the measurement data (depending on settings) as a CSV file. CSV files can be opened with Excel or another program.
For detailed information about specific stations, click on the icon on the map or select it from the menu, and then click on "Add station to list" at the bottom. You can add up to ten stations on the list.
Step 2: List of selected stations to display detailed information of your selection, such as the exact measurement values at the individual stations. Click on the "Export stations" button to download the data of the selected stations as a CSV file.
Step 3: Graph view shows all the available measured values at your selected stations on a line graph to reflect the development of pollution concentrations during the selected time period. Please refer to the line graph legend for a better understanding of the data on limit/target values and information/alarm thresholds. Time periods can be changed at the top of the line graph page. To select other pollutants and/or stations see Step 1. If the line graph display is too confusing, please select a shorter time period or delete some of the stations selected in Step 2 by clicking on the x button on the right.
For more information about the measured values, drag the mouse over the individual lines to see exact measured values. See below the diagram to download data as a CSV file. If you are unable to open the CSV files, please check whether a reading program for the file format has been installed on your workstation.
Click on the Exceedances tab to view a table of the pollutants particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide and ozone. The tables list the individual stations and the number of exceedances of the short-term limit and target values in the current year.
Select a pollutant from the Pollutant drop-down menu.
The results of each column shown in the Table can be sorted by clicking on the double arrow at the top of the column. You can …
Use the scroll bar to scroll through the table from left to right or from top to bottom.
Use the download link above the table to download a table as a CSV file. It can be opened in Excel format (among others). If you are unable to open the CSV files, please check whether a reading program for the file format has been installed on your workstation.
A link above the table provides more information on the exceedance table for the selected pollutant.
Click on the Annual tabulation tab to view tables which can be filtered by pollutant and year to show all limit or target values related parameters of every monitoring station.
Select the required pollutant and year from the drop-down menu.
The results of each column shown in the Table can be sorted by clicking on the double arrow at the top of the column. You can …
Use the scroll bar to scroll through the table from left to right or from top to bottom.
Click on the link above the table to download the table, either as a CSV file (which can be opened in Excel) or as a PDF file (currently only available in German). If you are unable to open the CSV files, please check whether an appropriate reading program has been installed on your workstation.
Also above the table is a link to more information on the selected pollutant.
On „Maps“ and „Stations“ you can choose, in addition to the pollutant, different “Time scopes”. Here you can find a brief explanation:
The UBA’s motto, For our environment (“Für Mensch und Umwelt”), sums up our mission pretty well, we feel. In this video we give an insight into our work.
