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

Short answer. Check the Ministry of Environmental Protection's air monitoring site, which shows monitoring stations and pollution alerts ¹. Israel's air quality index runs from +100 to -400: "good" from 51 to 100, "moderate" from 0 to 50, then "low" and "very low" in negative values, which signal a health risk ². On dust days, the ministry advises sensitive people to avoid strenuous outdoor exercise ¹.

Where can I check air quality right now?

The ministry's site air.sviva.gov.il shows its monitoring stations on a map and carries pollution alerts (התראות זיהום) ¹. Its alert messages also point to the ministry's app "אוויר בסביבה" ("Air in the Environment") to follow the stations ¹. The index is calculated for each monitoring station separately ².

What do the index levels mean?

Israel's index is not the US-style 0-500 scale. It is a number between +100 and -400, and lower means worse ². The official table ²:

Values from 0 to 100 are usually considered not dangerous ². A value of 0 corresponds to the pollutant's environmental standard; negative values mean the air is considered harmful, first for certain groups of sensitive people, and below -200 for the general public too ². A value of -200 corresponds to the pollutant's alert value, meaning concern for public health ². The index covers ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, PM10 and PM2.5, and the worst pollutant sets the station's value ². For a general explanation of indexes, see Air quality index explained.

How polluted is the air on average?

Above WHO guidelines. The population-weighted median of Israeli cities shows about 21 µg/m³ of PM2.5 (annual mean 2021-2023) ³, about four times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ ⁵. Nitrogen dioxide is about 32 µg/m³ ⁴, about three times the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m³ ⁵. That NO2 figure is a regional background over roughly 80 km: a busy road will be higher.

What should I do on a bad air day or during a dust storm?

The ministry's dust alerts posted on its monitoring site say that, in consultation with the Ministry of Health, it recommends that sensitive populations, among them heart patients, lung patients, older people, children and pregnant women, avoid strenuous physical activity outdoors, and that the general population reduce strenuous physical activity outdoors ¹.

• Check before going out: look at the nearest station on air.sviva.gov.il or in the ministry's app ¹. See Sensitive people and polluted air and Children and polluted air.
• Dust: see Dust storms, A clean-air room at home and Masks for smoke and dust.
• Smoke and episodes: Phaenyx found no separate official household advice for wildfire smoke. See Wildfire smoke, Pollution episodes and Ozone days.
• Official warnings: see our Israel alerts page.

A household plan can list who in your home is sensitive to polluted air and which room to keep closed on bad days.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Israel's air quality index negative?

The index is 100 minus a 0-500 sub-index, so values below 0 mean concentrations above the environmental standard ².

At what index value is the general public at risk?

Below -200, the air is considered harmful for the general public as well as sensitive groups ².

Who should avoid outdoor exercise on dust days?

Heart and lung patients, older people, children and pregnant women, according to the ministry's alerts; others should reduce strenuous outdoor activity ¹.

Is PM2.5 in Israel above the WHO guideline?

Yes. The city median is about 21 µg/m³ per year ³, against 5 µg/m³ ⁵.

Sources

1. Ministry of Environmental Protection (המשרד להגנת הסביבה) — ניטור אוויר בישראל (Air monitoring in Israel), including pollution alerts — https://air.sviva.gov.il/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
2. Ministry of Environmental Protection, National Air Monitoring Center — חישוב מדד איכות האוויר (Calculating the air quality index), updated 28/02/2022 — https://air.sviva.gov.il/Pagesfiles/%D7%94%D7%97%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%91%20%D7%A9%D7%9C%20%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%93%20%D7%96%D7%99%D7%94%D7%95%D7%9D%20%D7%94%D7%90%D7%95%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A8%20AQI%20%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%A8%20%D7%94%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A9.pdf (accessed 2026-10-27)
3. 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)
4. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) — CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) — https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
5. World Health Organization (WHO) — WHO global air quality guidelines (2021) — https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228 (accessed 2026-10-27)