Ho Chi Minh City air quality today
Live AQI for Ho Chi Minh City (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), taken from the monitoring station nearest the city centre and refreshed while this page is open. Below: what the level means for your health, why the air here behaves the way it does, and the questions people ask most.
Station Tây Ninh/Thị xã Tràng Bảng, Vietnam · ~38 km away · updated 18:00 26/07/2026 (UTC+7) · Source: WAQI (aqicn.org)
Who this level affects
Most people, including children and older adults.
What to do right now
- Outdoor exercise is a good choice today.
- Open windows to air the house out.
Why Ho Chi Minh City's air behaves this way
Ho Chi Minh City has a tropical monsoon climate with two clearly separated seasons and one of the highest densities of private vehicles in the country. It sits on low ground ringed by industrial zones and a port system, so emissions arrive from many directions rather than from one concentrated area.
When it gets worse, and why
The rainy season from roughly May to November brings near-daily downpours that scavenge fine dust and keep readings more comfortable. The dry season, roughly December to April, is the one to watch: no rain to clean the air, and many mornings begin with a low haze created by a radiation inversion that forms overnight and burns off as the sun climbs.
Main pollution sources in Ho Chi Minh City
- Very heavy motorbike and car use, with sustained congestion at the city gateways
- Industrial zones on the city ring and in the neighbouring provinces
- Port operations and road freight
- Construction sites and large-scale infrastructure projects
What the AQI numbers mean
Aiora uses the US-EPA AQI bands, the same scale the monitoring network reports on. Each band below shows who it affects and what to do at that level.
Who it affects: Most people, including children and older adults.
What to do: Outdoor exercise is a good choice today. Open windows to air the house out.
Who it affects: People with asthma or heart conditions may notice mild symptoms.
What to do: Keep long, hard outdoor sessions shorter. Watch for coughing or tightness and ease off if it appears.
Who it affects: Sensitive groups: asthma, COPD, heart disease, pregnancy, children, older adults.
What to do: Move hard exercise indoors. Wear a well-fitting mask on the street. Run an air purifier in the room you sleep in.
Who it affects: Everyone can feel this; people with asthma or heart disease feel it first.
What to do: Avoid outdoor exercise. Keep windows shut and filter indoor air. Keep reliever medication within reach if you have asthma.
Who it affects: Everyone, with a serious risk for sensitive groups.
What to do: Stay indoors as much as you can. Seal gaps around windows and doors. Seek care if breathing gets hard.
Who it affects: Everyone, at emergency level.
What to do: Stay indoors. Use an air purifier continuously. Get medical help for any breathing difficulty.
Frequently asked questions
What is the white morning haze in Ho Chi Minh City?
During the dry season the ground loses heat quickly overnight, leaving a layer of cool air near the surface with warmer air pressing down on it. Dust and moisture stay trapped inside that layer, producing the low haze often seen at dawn. It usually clears once the sun is up, and readings are frequently at their daily peak while it lasts.
Are readings the same downtown and on the outskirts?
Not necessarily. A monitoring station measures the air where the station stands; areas beside a major road or next to an industrial zone can be considerably worse than the city-wide figure. Treat the number on this page as a reference level for the area, not the exact value outside your door.
Where does this data come from?
Readings come from public monitoring stations via the World Air Quality Index Project (aqicn.org), with additional station coverage from OpenAQ and forecasts from Open-Meteo. The number is the station's measurement, not an estimate by Aiora.
Get an alert before the air turns bad
Aiora watches your location and notifies you when the level crosses the threshold you set, with advice adjusted to your own health profile.
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Station data: World Air Quality Index Project (aqicn.org) · OpenAQ · Open-Meteo