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

Short answer. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøstyrelsen) is responsible for air quality, and monitoring is run with Aarhus University's DCE, whose website shows current pollution and the next few days ¹. DCE publishes recent station measurements and a 3-day forecast map ²³. Phaenyx found no Danish national air quality index; the European Air Quality Index covers Denmark with six levels and health advice ⁵.

Where can I check air quality right now?

Aarhus University measures air quality at selected sites in larger cities and in rural areas, and publishes data from the last two weeks on its current measurements page (Aktuelle målinger) ². Street stations sit on busy roads, urban background stations on roofs or in courtyards, and rural stations far from major sources ².

For the coming days, DCE's Luftudsigten shows a 3-day forecast for several pollutants on a 1 x 1 km grid across Denmark, or as a graph for a chosen place ³. The EEA's European Air Quality Index also shows hourly levels at monitoring stations and on a modelled 1 x 1 km map, with forecasts for the next 48 hours ⁵.

What do the index levels mean?

Phaenyx found no official Danish index scale. The European Air Quality Index has six levels: good, fair, moderate, poor, very poor and extremely poor ⁵. The level at a station is set by the worst of up to five pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulphur dioxide ⁵.

The EEA defines sensitive people as adults and children with respiratory problems and adults with heart conditions ⁵. See Air quality index explained.

How polluted is the air on average?

Above WHO guidance for fine particles, below it for nitrogen dioxide. The population-weighted median of Danish cities shows about 8 µg/m³ of PM2.5 (annual mean 2021-2023) ⁶, above the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ ⁸. Nitrogen dioxide is about 6.9 µg/m³ ⁷, below the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m³ ⁸. 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: Miljøstyrelsen informs the public if ozone at a Danish station exceeds 180 µg/m³ as a 1-hour mean; a real warning is issued above 240 µg/m³ for three consecutive hours, which has not yet happened in Denmark ³. The 180 threshold is typically exceeded once in a year, with one to three years between ³. See Ozone days.
• Nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide: the public is informed if NO2 exceeds 400 µg/m³ or SO2 exceeds 500 µg/m³ for three consecutive hours over a larger area ⁴.
• Smoke and toxic gases: a fire releasing toxic gases counts as acute pollution; report it on 112 and keep informed through radio, TV, the internet and social media ⁹. When the sirens sound, go indoors and look for information from DR or TV 2 ¹⁰. Phaenyx found no separate official smoke alert. See Wildfire smoke, A clean-air room at home and Masks for smoke.
• Other bad air days: see Pollution episodes, Sensitive people and polluted air and Dust storms.

A household plan can list who in your home is sensitive to polluted air and where to shelter.

Frequently asked questions

Does Denmark have its own air quality index?

Phaenyx found none. DCE publishes measurements and forecasts as concentrations ²³; the EEA index gives levels and advice ⁵.

What ozone level triggers public information in Denmark?

180 µg/m³ as a 1-hour mean; a warning follows above 240 µg/m³ for three consecutive hours ³.

Where do I get warnings about smoke from a fire?

Through radio, TV, the internet and social media ⁹, and via the sirens and DR or TV 2 ¹⁰. See our Denmark alerts page.

Sources

1. borger.dk — Luftforurening — https://www.borger.dk/miljoe-og-energi/Forurening/Luftforurening (accessed 2026-10-27)
2. Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Miljøvidenskab (DCE) — Aktuelle målinger — https://envs.au.dk/om-instituttet-1/faglige-omraader/luftforurening-udledninger-og-effekter/data-om-luftkvalitet/aktuelle-maalinger (accessed 2026-10-27)
3. Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Miljøvidenskab (DCE) — Luftudsigten — https://envs.au.dk/om-instituttet-1/faglige-omraader/luftforurening-udledninger-og-effekter/data-om-luftkvalitet/luftudsigten (accessed 2026-10-27)
4. Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Miljøvidenskab (DCE) — Smog-alarm — https://envs.au.dk/om-instituttet-1/faglige-omraader/luftforurening-udledninger-og-effekter/data-om-luftkvalitet/smog-alarm (accessed 2026-10-27)
5. European Environment Agency (EEA) — European Air Quality Index — https://airindex.eea.europa.eu/AQI/index.html (accessed 2026-10-27)
6. 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)
7. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) — CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) — https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
8. World Health Organization (WHO) — WHO global air quality guidelines (2021) — https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228 (accessed 2026-10-27)
9. borger.dk (written by Beredskabsstyrelsen) — Akut forurening — https://www.borger.dk/miljoe-og-energi/Forurening/akut-forurening (accessed 2026-10-27)
10. Beredskabsstyrelsen — Det skal du gøre, når du hører sirenerne — https://www.brs.dk/da/borger/var-klar-nar-krisen-rammer/det-skal-du-gore-nar-du-horer-sirenerne/ (accessed 2026-10-27)