Air quality in Queanbeyan

How bad is Queanbeyan’s air quality?

Queanbeyan is a city located on the border with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), lying in the south-eastern part of New South Wales, within the Southern Tablelands region. Like the rest of Australia, New South Wales including Queanbeyan experiences relatively healthy air quality most of the year round in comparison to global locations. However, this part of Australia, like the rest of the country, is also vulnerable to experiencing periodic short-term, extreme air pollution events, such as caused by bushfires and dust storms.

The main pollutants of concern in New South Wales, including Queanbeyan, are particulate matter and ozone. The NSW government monitors a range of key air pollutants across the state, including both fine and coarse particulate matter (describing tiny airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 or 10 microns in diameter, abbreviated as PM2.5 or PM10 respectively), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O₃), and visibility. However, PM and ozone emerge as the pollutants meriting closest attention within NSW, for two reasons: first, these are the pollutants which most frequently exceed Australia’s national air quality standards, known as the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure (Air NEPM).¹ These standards are designed to benchmark air quality levels at an amount above which, increased health risks may be observed, based on scientific research; therefore, an exceedance of these standards represents some cause for health concern. Secondly, these pollutants warrant attention since they pose notable health hazards to residents of Queanbeyan and beyond.

Live Queanbeyan air quality information is reported by IQAir based on satellite data, visible within the dynamic Queanbeyan air quality map at the top of this page. These updates can be viewed at any time using the IQAir AirVisual app, along with a 7-day Queanbeyan air quality forecast, to stay on top of changing conditions.

How does Queanbeyan’s air quality compare to other locations?

While there is currently no live air quality monitoring conducted in Queanbeyan by the NSW government, the nearest representative air quality data from a ground-based station comes from Canberra, which is a short 15 kilometres northeast from Queanbeyan. According to Canberra’s air quality records, this area of Australia ranked as the country’s 3rd most polluted during 2019, out of a list of 95 Australian locations for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution during that year, with an annual mean concentration of 15 μg/m³, according to IQAir’s 2019 World Air Quality Report.² This level of air pollution exceeds the national NEPM standard for annual PM2.5 concentration (8 μg/m³) almost twofold, and it also exceeds the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s slightly less stringent international standard for PM2.5 (10 μg/m³) by 50%. In comparison, Canberra, representing Queanbeyan’s nearby area ranked third only to the cities of Armidale (23 μg/m³) and Tamworth in New South Wales (15.2 μg/m³) in the national 2019 ranking. This was more polluted than state capital Sydney’s air pollution (10.1 μg/m³) and that in Melbourne (6.5 μg/m³), in addition to further afield cities including New Zealand’s Wellington City (6.7 μg/m³), Paris in France (14.7 μg/m³), and London in the United Kingdom (11.4 μg/m³).

What are the health impacts of Queanbeyan’s air quality?

Air pollution can cause a wide range of short- and long-term health impacts, even when at low concentrations such as experienced in New South Wales, including Queanbeyan during most of the year. Particulate matter pollution is one of the most hazardous and widespread forms of pollution to affect human health worldwide. This is due to these particles’ microscopic size enabling them to travel deep into the human bloodstream once inhaled, entering the lungs and in the case of PM2.5, even beyond into the bloodstream. Short-term exposure to PM pollution can cause aggravation of existing conditions such as asthma, lung inflammation, and negative impacts on the cardiovascular system. Long-term PM exposure can contribute to the development of increased chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (an umbrella term for a group of diseases affecting the respiratory system, often resulting in breathing problems and poor airflow), in addition to lung cancer, and reduced lung function in children and adults. Conversely, short-term exposure to ozone can result in lung inflammation and negative effects on lung function and the respiratory system, while long-term exposure can affect reduced lung function development. ¹

What are the main sources of air pollution in Queanbeyan?

The main sources of particulate matter pollution within New South Wales include emissions from coal mining, residential wood heating, electricity generation, vehicles, industry, and fires from planned burns and bushfires, according to the NSW Government.¹ Similarly, but with slight differences, Queanbeyan’s neighbouring state, the Australian Capital Territory estimates that its main contributors to PM2.5 pollution come from vehicle emissions, windblown dust, and smoke pollution from bushfires and wood heaters.³

Is Queanbeyan affected by the fires in Australia?

Australia has long been affected by fires, with an established fire season. Australia wildfires are most often started as a result of natural causes, such as a lightning strike, although they can also occur as a result of human actions, either by accident, such as via an accidental spark, or deliberately, as a result of planned burning or arson. During the summer of 2019-2020, Australia suffered one of its worst fire seasons on record, known as the “black summer”. This season was particularly devastating, due to months of record-breaking temperatures, low rainfall and drought in advance. The exceptionally hot and dry conditions caused widespread damage and huge amounts of air pollution from fire smoke, with New South Wales the worst affected state of all. In December 2019, the NSW Government’s environment department remarked that the smoke constituted the ‘longest and most widespread’ spell of airborne smoke pollution on record within the state, with Queanbeyan also at the receiving end of considerable smoke during this spell.⁴

What is Queanbeyan doing about air pollution?

The New South Wales government is responsible to monitor air quality across the state, to check that it complies with the national NEPM air quality standards. To do this, the government has established a network of air quality monitoring stations at key sites statewide. Currently, there is no government air quality monitoring station located within Queanbeyan specifically; although there is one station within the Southern Tablelands region, this measures the city of Goulburn’s air quality, which is approximately 90 kilometres northeast from Queanbeyan. Given Queanbeyan’s proximity to the ACT state border, the city’s closest air quality data from a ground-level monitoring station comes instead from the national capital Canberra, which is only 15 kilometres northwest from Queanbeyan. However, aside from monitoring, both the NSW Government and Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council are involved in raising awareness and implementing some of Australia’s national air quality policies in this area. Such involvement includes providing information on how to protect health from bushfire smoke, responsible usage of wood heaters, and following restrictions on open burning.

+ Article resources

[1] NSW Government. “Consultation paper: Clean Air for NSW”. NSW Government EPA website, 2016.
[2] IQAir. “2019 World Air Quality Report”. IQAir website, March 18, 2020.
[3] ACT Government. “Air pollutants and sources”. ACT Government Health website, September 3, 2019.
[4] Australian Associated Press. “NSW endures longest spell of air pollution on record as bushfires flare near Sydney”. The Guardian, December 5, 2019.