The Air Quality — Dust indicator shows the daily mean concentration of mineral dust in the air, expressed in micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3). Atmospheric dust comprises mineral particles lifted by wind from arid soils, deserts (particularly Sahara, Gobi, Arabia), agricultural land, and construction sites.
High dust concentrations reduce visibility, alter the atmospheric radiative balance, and deposit nutrients (iron, phosphorus) and contaminants on vegetation and water bodies. The ecological effect is twofold: nutrient deposition can fertilise oligotrophic ecosystems, while dust can block plant stomata, interfere with pollinator activity, and degrade surface water quality.
This indicator is a sub-type of the parent Air Quality KPI. It belongs to the Risks category and is part of the Pollution risk section on the platform.
Data come from the Open-Meteo Air Quality API, which uses the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global reanalysis and forecast model. The variable used is dust (mineral dust concentration at ground level). For each day, the hourly values are averaged to produce a daily mean.
Formula: Dust (ug/m3) = mean of 24 hourly dust concentration values for the day
The data are interpolated to the geographic coordinates of the monitored site.
| Source | Provider | Coverage | Resolution | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-Meteo Air Quality API (CAMS) | Open-Meteo / Copernicus CAMS | Global (Europe: 11 km) | ~11 km | 2013 — present |
Line Chart. A time-series trend chart showing the daily mean dust concentration over the selected time period, with day-level or hour-level resolution selectable via tabs.
Purpose: To show how mineral dust concentration has varied over time at the site location, identifying dust events, seasonal patterns, and baseline levels.
Description: The chart is located within the Risks > Pollution > Air Quality section. A dropdown filter allows the user to select "Polveri sottili" (Dust) from the list of available air quality measurement types. The X axis shows dates and the Y axis shows dust concentration in ug/m3. Resolution tabs allow switching between daily ("Giornaliero") and hourly ("Orario") views. If no data have been generated yet, a message prompts the user to request data generation via a "Generate data" button.
How it's calculated: The plotted values are daily means of hourly dust concentration measurements from the Open-Meteo Air Quality API (CAMS model), interpolated to the site coordinates. When hourly resolution is selected, the raw hourly values are shown instead.
Legend: The chart uses a 5-band colour scale to indicate dust quality levels:
| Level | Range (ug/m3) | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 0 – 100 | ■ #00A67A | Low dust — clean atmospheric conditions |
| Fair | 100 – 200 | ■ #00DF80 | Moderate dust — slight haze possible |
| Moderate | 200 – 500 | ■ #FFD21E | Elevated dust — reduced visibility, mild ecological stress |
| Poor | 500 – 1,000 | ■ #FF8B16 | High dust — significant dust event, pollinator disruption |
| Very Poor | 1,000 – 10,000 | ■ #FF367F | Severe dust storm — major visibility reduction, health risk |
Interpretation example: If the chart shows a daily value of 45 ug/m3 (Good, green), this indicates clean atmospheric conditions with minimal mineral dust. A spike to 800 ug/m3 (Poor, orange) would indicate a significant Saharan dust intrusion event, which can smother plant stomata, reduce photosynthesis, and force pollinating insects to reduce foraging activity.
Shao, Y. et al. (2011). "Dust cycle: An emerging core theme in Earth system science". Aeolian Research, 2(4), 181–204.
Mahowald, N. et al. (2005). "Atmospheric global dust cycle and iron inputs to the ocean". Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 19(4).
EEA. "European Air Quality Index". Available at: airindex.eea.europa.eu
WHO (2021). "WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines". WHO, Geneva.
Open-Meteo Air Quality API documentation. Available at: open-meteo.com/en/docs/air-quality-api
See the Calculation Methodology section for the core computation. Additional processing details are documented here for expert users.
AirQualityRanges.dust configuration and are specific to mineral dust — they should not be compared directly with PM10 or PM2.5 thresholds.