Short answer. Estonia's air quality management system, ohuseire.ee, shows monitoring stations on a five-level scale from very good to very bad 1. The European Air Quality Index also covers Estonia, hour by hour, with six levels from good to extremely poor and health advice for each 2. Phaenyx found no official Estonian advice for bad air days; the EEA advice applies.
Where can I check air quality right now?
On ohuseire.ee, Estonia's air quality management system (Eesti õhukvaliteedi juhtimissüsteem), which shows monitoring stations and their current level 1. The European Environment Agency's European Air Quality Index shows hourly levels at monitoring stations and on a modelled 1 x 1 km map, so it also gives a value where there is no station nearby, with forecasts for the next 48 hours 2. By default it shows the situation three hours ago 2.
What do the index levels mean?
ohuseire.ee rates air quality on five levels: very good, good, medium, bad and very bad 1. It does not publish the concentration limits or health advice for these levels, so this page relies on the European Air Quality Index for advice. The European Air Quality Index has six levels: good, fair, moderate, poor, very poor and extremely poor 2. The level is set by the worst of up to five pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulphur dioxide 2. It reflects short-term (hourly) air quality, not the annual situation 2.
| EEA level | General population 2 | Sensitive people 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities | Consider reducing intense outdoor activities if you experience symptoms |
| Poor | Consider reducing intense activities outdoors if you have symptoms such as sore eyes, a cough or sore throat | Consider reducing physical activities, particularly outdoors |
| Very poor | Same as poor | Reduce physical activities, particularly outdoors |
| Extremely poor | Reduce physical activities outdoors | Avoid physical activities outdoors |
The EEA defines sensitive people as adults and children with respiratory problems and adults with heart conditions 2. 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 Estonian cities shows about 7 µg/m³ of PM2.5 (annual mean 2021-2023) 3, above the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ 5. Nitrogen dioxide is about 8.3 µg/m³ 4, below the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m³ 5. 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?
- Bad air days: follow the EEA advice above, and see Pollution episodes, Sensitive people and polluted air, Children and polluted air and Ozone days.
- Smoke: Phaenyx found no official Estonian smoke or pollution alert. National emergencies are announced through EE-ALARM, which sends location-based SMS to phones in the affected area and pushes alerts to apps and public TV 6. See Wildfire smoke, A clean-air room at home and Masks for smoke.
- Dust: see Dust storms.
A household plan can list who in your home is sensitive to polluted air and where to shelter.
Frequently asked questions
Does Estonia have its own air quality index?
ohuseire.ee uses five levels, from very good to very bad, but publishes no limits or health advice for them 1. The European index gives six levels with health advice 2.
Is the European index the same as the annual pollution level?
No. It shows the short-term hourly situation, which can differ significantly from the annual one 2.
How will I be warned in an emergency?
Through EE-ALARM: location-based SMS, sirens, apps and public TV 6. See our Estonia alerts page.
Sources
- ohuseire.ee — Eesti õhukvaliteedi juhtimissüsteem — https://www.ohuseire.ee/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
- European Environment Agency (EEA) — European Air Quality Index — https://airindex.eea.europa.eu/AQI/index.html (accessed 2026-10-27)
- 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)
- Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) — CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) — https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
- World Health Organization (WHO) — WHO global air quality guidelines (2021) — https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228 (accessed 2026-10-27)
- Päästeamet (Estonian Rescue Board) – Ole valmis! — Public warning system known as EE-ALARM — https://www.olevalmis.ee/en/public-warning-system-known-as-ee-alarm (accessed 2026-10-27)
Turn this into action
Your plan for Estonia, worked out for your household.
- Water, food and equipment counted for each person and pet
- The nuclear plants and zones around your home
- Phaenyx Safe: one tap to tell your people you are safe
Sources
- ohuseire.ee · Eesti õhukvaliteedi juhtimissüsteem checked 2026-10-27
- European Environment Agency (EEA) · European Air Quality Index checked 2026-10-27
- Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group (ACAG), Washington University in St. Louis · Surface PM2.5, V6.GL.02.04 (annual mean 2021-2023) checked 2026-10-27
- Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) · CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) checked 2026-10-27
- World Health Organization (WHO) · WHO global air quality guidelines (2021) checked 2026-10-27
- Päästeamet (Estonian Rescue Board) – Ole valmis! · Public warning system known as EE-ALARM checked 2026-10-27