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Attard

Attard · Malta · Background · Urban

What's affecting the air?(3)

Conditions across the Maltese Islands that may be influencing air quality. Context explains a reading; it never adjusts one, and it does not establish the cause of any individual measurement.

  • Saharan dust forecast

    The CAMS model forecasts mineral dust concentrations peaking near 32 µg/m³ over the Maltese Islands, with an aerosol optical depth of about 0.26. Dust transported from North Africa may contribute to elevated PM10 and, to a lesser extent, PM2.5. Dust is a natural source, but the particles it adds affect health in much the same way as other coarse particulate matter.

    May worsen air quality

    ForecastModerate confidenceMaltese Islands

    Most relevant to: PM10, PM2.5

    –

    Source:Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), via Open-Meteo (Opens in a new window)

    Retrieved at

  • Light winds and limited dispersion

    Wind speeds are forecast to fall to about 4.1 km/h for around 13 hours. Light winds may allow locally emitted pollutants — traffic nitrogen dioxide and fine particles in particular — to accumulate near the ground instead of dispersing.

    May worsen air quality

    ForecastModerate confidenceMaltese Islands

    Most relevant to: NO₂, PM2.5, PM10

    –

    Source:Open-Meteo weather forecast (ECMWF and DWD models) (Opens in a new window)

    Retrieved at

  • Shallow mixing layer — possible temperature inversion

    The forecast mixing layer drops to about 225 m with warmer air above it. That pattern is the signature of a temperature inversion, which may trap pollutants close to the ground overnight and into the early morning. This is a model-based indication rather than a measured inversion.

    May worsen air quality

    ForecastLower confidenceMaltese Islands

    Most relevant to: NO₂, PM2.5, PM10

    –

    Source:Open-Meteo weather forecast (ECMWF and DWD models) (Opens in a new window)

    Retrieved at

Source:Open-Meteo weather forecast (ECMWF and DWD models) (Opens in a new window)Source:Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), via Open-Meteo (Opens in a new window)

Retrieved at

Air quality now

Attard: Fair2.7Provisional

Air quality is fair. Outdoor activities are fine for most people.

Concentrations are a little above the lowest band but remain well within everyday levels.

Leading pollutant: PM2.5The pollutant with the highest sub-index at this hour. The overall band is the worst sub-index across the pollutants this station reported.

Delayed2 hours oldMeasured at Retrieved at

Next reading expected around Wed 7 Oct 2026, 15:58

Near-real-time readings are provisional. ERA validates data after publication, and figures may be revised.

Pollutants measured

Measured at Wed 7 Oct 2026, 13:00

Trends and recent history

Hourly values as published, including hours the feed filled in by modelling.

The published feed carries roughly ten days of hourly history and about two days of forecast, so no longer window is offered. Hours the instrument did not report are shown as gaps. This view covers 69 hours from Tue 6 Oct 2026, 16:00 to Fri 9 Oct 2026, 12:00.

Concentration (µg/m³)

Time (Malta)

  • Measured
  • Forecast
  • Everything to the right of this line is forecast.
  • Good 0–60 µg/m³
  • Fair 60–100 µg/m³

Ozone at Attard, hourly, in µg/m³, covering the last 24 hours. The published points run from Tue 6 Oct 2026, 16:00 to Fri 9 Oct 2026, 12:00. 69 hours are shown: 22 measured, 0 filled in by modelling, 47 forecast, and 0 with no value at all. Measured values ran from 70 µg/m³ at Wed 7 Oct 2026, 08:00 to 96 µg/m³ at Wed 7 Oct 2026, 02:00, averaging 88 µg/m³ across the 22 measured hours.

Show the values as a table
Values shown in the chart above — Ozone, µg/m³.
Time (Malta)ValueBandHow the value was obtained
90 µg/m³FairMeasured
91 µg/m³FairMeasured
92 µg/m³FairMeasured
88 µg/m³FairMeasured
96 µg/m³FairMeasured
89 µg/m³FairMeasured
84 µg/m³FairMeasured
94 µg/m³FairMeasured
90 µg/m³FairMeasured
94 µg/m³FairMeasured
96 µg/m³FairMeasured
94 µg/m³FairMeasured
91 µg/m³FairMeasured
92 µg/m³FairMeasured
93 µg/m³FairMeasured
80 µg/m³FairMeasured
70 µg/m³FairMeasured
83 µg/m³FairMeasured
83 µg/m³FairMeasured
86 µg/m³FairMeasured
87 µg/m³FairMeasured
83 µg/m³FairMeasured
87 µg/m³FairForecast
87 µg/m³FairForecast
86 µg/m³FairForecast
82 µg/m³FairForecast
80 µg/m³FairForecast
77 µg/m³FairForecast
79 µg/m³FairForecast
77 µg/m³FairForecast
77 µg/m³FairForecast
76 µg/m³FairForecast
77 µg/m³FairForecast
78 µg/m³FairForecast
76 µg/m³FairForecast
74 µg/m³FairForecast
72 µg/m³FairForecast
71 µg/m³FairForecast
69 µg/m³FairForecast
67 µg/m³FairForecast
63 µg/m³FairForecast
69 µg/m³FairForecast
75 µg/m³FairForecast
81 µg/m³FairForecast
83 µg/m³FairForecast
84 µg/m³FairForecast
85 µg/m³FairForecast
84 µg/m³FairForecast
81 µg/m³FairForecast
78 µg/m³FairForecast
72 µg/m³FairForecast
71 µg/m³FairForecast
72 µg/m³FairForecast
73 µg/m³FairForecast
73 µg/m³FairForecast
74 µg/m³FairForecast
71 µg/m³FairForecast
74 µg/m³FairForecast
75 µg/m³FairForecast
76 µg/m³FairForecast
75 µg/m³FairForecast
73 µg/m³FairForecast
72 µg/m³FairForecast
68 µg/m³FairForecast
64 µg/m³FairForecast
68 µg/m³FairForecast
73 µg/m³FairForecast
78 µg/m³FairForecast
81 µg/m³FairForecast
Lowest measured
70 µg/m³
Average of measured hours
88 µg/m³
Highest measured
96 µg/m³
Hours with a measured value
22 of 69

Figures cover directly measured hours only. Modelled and forecast hours are excluded from the minimum, maximum and average. Near-real-time data is published before validation and may be revised or withdrawn by ERA.

Some past hours are modelled too: the feed fills gaps when an instrument does not report. Those points are marked as estimated. All times are shown in Malta time.

How this compares

O₃ — 83 µg/m³

  • Below the EU limit value of 120 µg/m³

    120 µg/m³ over Maximum daily 8-hour mean · Reference: Directive 2008/50/EC Annex VII (target value)

  • Below the EU limit value of 180 µg/m³

    180 µg/m³ over 1 hour · Reference: Directive 2008/50/EC Annex XII (information threshold)

  • Below the EU limit value of 240 µg/m³

    240 µg/m³ over 1 hour · Reference: Directive 2008/50/EC Annex XII (alert threshold)

  • Below the WHO guideline of 100 µg/m³

    100 µg/m³ over Peak season 8-hour · Reference: WHO 2021

EU limit values describe legal compliance over long averaging periods. The index bands above are for communication and are a different thing entirely. WHO guidelines are health-based guidance, not law.

What this means for you

Advice for the current band: Fair

For most people

Outdoor activity remains fine for the general population.

If you are more sensitive

A small number of unusually sensitive people may notice mild symptoms during long outdoor exertion.

Who is more affected, and why
Children
Children breathe more air for their size and spend more time active outdoors, so they take in relatively more of whatever is in the air.
Older adults
Existing heart or lung conditions become more common with age, and these are what air pollution tends to aggravate.
People who are pregnant
Reducing avoidable exposure during raised episodes is a reasonable precaution.
People with asthma
Raised particles, nitrogen dioxide and ozone can all trigger symptoms. Keep reliever medication to hand on poor-air days.
People with lung conditions
COPD, bronchitis and similar conditions can flare when levels rise. Plan outdoor activity for cleaner hours where possible.
People with heart conditions
Fine particles are the pollutant most closely linked with cardiovascular effects during raised episodes.
People who work outdoors
Long shifts outdoors mean higher cumulative exposure than a short trip. Take breaks indoors when levels are raised.
People exercising hard outdoors
Hard exercise draws more air deeper into the lungs and often through the mouth, bypassing the nose. Consider rescheduling intense sessions when levels are raised.

Advice here is general and precautionary. Air quality is one factor among many, and staying active remains beneficial. If you have severe or sudden symptoms, seek medical help rather than relying on this page.

maqua.app provides general environmental information and does not replace medical advice or official emergency guidance.

Estimated air-quality outlook

Estimated

Forecast values are model output, not measurements. Modelled estimates from the Copernicus atmosphere service, carried in the same feed.

Prepared at
Based on measurements up to
Published outlook
Wed 7 Oct 2026, 14:00 to Fri 9 Oct 2026, 12:00 (47 hours)

Moderate confidence

  • Looks 22 hours ahead, where the official model becomes less certain.

Highest band expected Wed 7 Oct 2026, 14:00 Highest expected band: Fair2.7

  • Highest band estimated for this day: Fair

    Estimated · Higher confidence · 10 forecast hours

    Driven by O₃

  • Highest band estimated for this day: Fair

    Estimated · Moderate confidence · 24 forecast hours

    Driven by O₃

  • Highest band estimated for this day: Fair

    Estimated · Lower confidence · 13 forecast hours

    Driven by O₃

Why the outlook looks like this

What this outlook cannot tell you

  • These are modelled values for Attard, not measurements, and may differ from what is later recorded there.
  • The model describes regional conditions. It cannot anticipate a local event such as roadworks, a fire or a fireworks display.
  • Confidence falls the further ahead the outlook reaches.

Modelled hourly concentrations from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, published alongside the measurements in the EEA European Air Quality Index dissemination layer and classified with the same European AQI bands maqua.app applies to observations. maqua.app does not model air quality and does not adjust these values.

How the index is calculated

maqua.app provides general environmental information and does not replace medical advice or official emergency guidance.

Explain this reading

Explanations are general information, not medical advice. Every number on this page is calculated by the application itself and is unaffected.

No explanation has been requested. Activate the button to prepare one.

Where this reading comes from

Air-quality data provided by Malta's Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), disseminated via the European Environment Agency (EEA). maqua.app is an independent project and is not operated by, affiliated with, or endorsed by ERA or the EEA.

Each pollutant concentration is rounded to the nearest whole microgram per cubic metre and matched against the published band ranges. The location takes the band of its worst pollutant. A missing value is shown as unavailable and never as zero. Bands are calculated only from pollutants that actually reported.

This is not an official ERA or EEA service. For official statements, consult ERA directly.

Station detail

Station type
BackgroundSited away from single sources to represent general exposure in the area.
Area
Urban
Island
Malta
Altitude
86 m above sea level
Coordinates
35.8901° N, 14.4346° E
Operated by
Environment & Resources Authority (ERA)

Station code: MT00008

All times are shown in Malta time.

About this station

An inland urban Background station, well above sea level — the closest thing the network has to ordinary residential air away from a main road.

Attard is classified as a Background station in an Urban area. A Background site is deliberately placed away from any single dominant source, so that what it measures is the general air of the surrounding area rather than the exhaust of whatever is immediately beside it. That is the opposite design intent from Msida, and the two are not rival estimates of one number.

At 86 metres above sea level it is the highest station on the island of Malta itself, and inland. Elevation and distance from the coast both matter: a higher inland site is less affected by sea spray than a coastal one, so its coarse-particle figure carries less salt and is a somewhat cleaner signal of what is actually being emitted or transported.

Attard does not report sulphur dioxide. It is the only station in the network that does not, so for sulphur dioxide this is the one site that has nothing to say.

The daily pattern here, measured

Worked out from this station's own measured hours — forecasts and gap-filled estimates are excluded, so this describes what the instruments actually recorded. The upstream feed carries roughly ten days of history, so this is the shape of a short recent sample rather than a seasonal average.

  • PM2.5 is typically highest around 08:00 (23.6 µg/m³ on average) and lowest around 17:00 (7.2 µg/m³) — a pronounced daily cycle, with the peak running 3.3× the trough. (264 measured hours over 11 days)

  • PM10 is typically highest around 08:00 (84.6 µg/m³ on average) and lowest around 17:00 (14.9 µg/m³) — a pronounced daily cycle, with the peak running 5.7× the trough. (264 measured hours over 11 days)

  • NO₂ is typically highest around 08:00 (54.1 µg/m³ on average) and lowest around 13:00 (8.0 µg/m³) — a pronounced daily cycle, with the peak running 6.7× the trough. (262 measured hours over 11 days)

  • O₃ is typically highest around 14:00 (97.4 µg/m³ on average) and lowest around 07:00 (36.0 µg/m³) — a pronounced daily cycle, with the peak running 2.7× the trough. (263 measured hours over 11 days)

What this station answers best

Urban background air inland — a reasonable reference for what people away from a main road are breathing, and a useful comparison against the Traffic stations.

What it cannot tell you

  • Sulphur dioxide is not measured here. An absent value is the instrument not reporting, not clean air, and this site renders it as unavailable rather than as zero.
  • A Background reading will usually be better than a roadside one, and that is not reassurance about the kerbside — it is a different question being answered.

Near-real-time readings are provisional. ERA validates data after publication, and figures may be revised.

All times are shown in Malta time. (Europe/Malta)