Yom Kippur’s cleaner city air

Three illustrated cards explain Israel’s reported air quality on Yom Kippur in September 2026, a sharp drop in nitrogen oxides at one Jerusalem station, and the contribution of westerly airflow.

TheStateOfIsrael.com
Read the slides
An illustrated Jerusalem street beneath the headline A quieter day. Cleaner city air. The card dates the monitoring result to Yom Kippur in 2026.
Slide 1 of 3
Two horizontal bars compare peak nitrogen oxides at Jerusalem’s Devorah HaNevi’a Street station: 82.7 parts per billion on 20 September and 16.2 on 21 September 2026. Both bars start at the same zero.
Slide 2 of 3
Arrows cross an illustrated coast from the sea toward the land, explaining the incoming westerly airflow that also helped keep airborne particle levels low.
Slide 3 of 3
Slide 1 of 3

Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry reported very good air quality across its national monitoring network during Yom Kippur on 21 September 2026. The findings describe conditions during the fast.

At the Devorah HaNevi’a Street monitoring station in Jerusalem, peak nitrogen oxides fell from 82.7 parts per billion on 20 September to 16.2 parts per billion on 21 September. Nitrogen oxides are a marker of vehicle pollution. The ministry linked the urban decline mainly to reduced traffic.

Westerly airflow and good dispersion also contributed to low airborne particle levels. The ministry cautioned that ozone does not necessarily fall on Yom Kippur. These are short-term measurements, not annual averages.

Read the slides

Slide 1 of 3

Very good air quality during the fast

YOM KIPPUR · 2026 A quieter day. Cleaner city air. Israel’s monitoring stations recorded very good air quality during the fast on 21 September.

Slide 2 of 3

Two peak readings at a Jerusalem station

JERUSALEM · SEPTEMBER 2026 A sharp drop in nitrogen oxides. Devorah HaNevi’a Street 20 September 82.7 21 September 16.2 Peaks in parts per billion. A marker of vehicle pollution.

Slide 3 of 3

Westerly airflow also helped

WEATHER ALSO MATTERED Clean air came from the west. Westerly airflow also kept airborne particle levels low.

Something went wrong

We couldn't complete that action. Check your connection and try again.