Air quality in Austria: where to check and what to do

Short answer. The Umweltbundesamt publishes hourly measurements and an Austria-wide ozone map ¹. Phaenyx found no single national air quality index for Austria; the European Environment Agency's index rates every station in six levels, from "good" to "extremely poor" ⁴. Above 180 µg/m³ of ozone in one hour, the public is informed; above 240 µg/m³, avoid unusual or strenuous effort outdoors ¹².

Where can I check air quality right now?

The Umweltbundesamt (Austria's environment agency) offers an Austria-wide ozone map and the hourly values of each monitoring station, with the number of ozone threshold exceedances since 1 January ¹. Ozone is measured by the federal states (Länder) and the Umweltbundesamt at more than 100 sites ¹.

For all main pollutants on one map, the European Air Quality Index covers Austria with hourly station data and a 1 x 1 km modelled layer, plus 48-hour forecasts; it has a mobile app ⁴.

What do the index levels mean?

Phaenyx found no official national index scale for Austria. The European index uses six levels: good, fair, moderate, poor, very poor and extremely poor, set by the worst of five pollutants ⁴. For fine particles (PM2.5), "good" is 0-5 µg/m³ and "poor" is 51-90 µg/m³ ⁴.

The EEA notes that its index shows short-term (hourly) conditions, not the long-term situation ⁴. See Air quality index explained.

How polluted is the air on average?

The population-weighted median of Austrian cities shows about 11 µg/m³ of PM2.5 (annual mean 2021-2023) ⁵, about twice the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ ⁷. Nitrogen dioxide is about 11.7 µg/m³ ⁶, just above the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m³ ⁷. That NO2 figure is a regional background over roughly 80 km: a busy street will be higher.

What should I do on a bad air day, or with smoke or dust?

• Ozone above 180 µg/m³ (information threshold): normal time outdoors, such as a walk, swimming or a picnic, is harmless even for sensitive people, who should follow how ozone develops where they are ². The Ozone Act sets this threshold as a 1-hour mean ³.
• Ozone above 240 µg/m³ (alert threshold): avoid unusual and strenuous effort outdoors, especially at midday and in the afternoon. Children with sensitive airways, people with serious lung or heart disease and people with asthma should preferably stay indoors in smoke-free rooms; ask your family doctor for personal advice ².
• Where it happens: exceedances occur mainly in eastern Austria, occasionally in Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg ². See Ozone days.
• Smoke or dust: Phaenyx found no official Austrian guidance on wildfire smoke. See Wildfire smoke, A clean-air room at home, Masks for smoke and Dust storms. How warnings reach you is on our Austria alerts page.

A household plan can note who at home is sensitive to polluted air and where to stay on bad days.

Frequently asked questions

Does Austria have its own air quality index?

Phaenyx found no single national index. The Umweltbundesamt publishes station values and an ozone map ¹; the EEA index covers Austria ⁴.

What ozone level triggers a warning in Austria?

180 µg/m³ as a 1-hour mean is the information threshold; 240 µg/m³ is the alert threshold ³.

Who is most sensitive to ozone?

Children, older people and people with chronic illnesses such as asthma ¹.

Is the alert threshold ever reached?

Yes, rarely. In 2025 it was exceeded for the first time in ten years, at one station in Himberg, Lower Austria ¹.

Sources

1. Umweltbundesamt GmbH — Ozon: Hitze erhöht Belastung (29 May 2026) — https://www.umweltbundesamt.at/aktuelles/presse/news260529ozon-hitze-erhoeht-belastung (accessed 2026-10-27)
2. Umweltbundesamt GmbH — Empfehlungen bei Überschreitungen der Schwellenwerte — https://www.umweltbundesamt.at/ozon-aktuell/empfehlungen-luftguete (accessed 2026-10-27)
3. Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Klima- und Umweltschutz, Regionen und Wasserwirtschaft (BMLUK) — Ozongesetz — https://www.bmluk.gv.at/themen/klima-und-umwelt/luft-und-laerm/recht/ozongesetz.html (accessed 2026-10-27)
4. European Environment Agency (EEA) — European Air Quality Index — https://airindex.eea.europa.eu/AQI/index.html (accessed 2026-10-27)
5. Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group (ACAG), Washington University in St. Louis — Surface PM2.5, V6.GL.02.04 (annual mean 2021-2023) — https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/datasets/surface-pm2-5/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
6. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) — CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) — https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
7. World Health Organization (WHO) — WHO global air quality guidelines (2021) — https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228 (accessed 2026-10-27)