This statement summarises data collected from the NSW Air Quality Monitoring Network during 2024. It assesses air quality conditions against national standards, for the state's metropolitan and regional centres. The 2024 statement also presents one focus area describing air quality at stations near industrial activities in the Hunter Valley.
The NSW Clean Air Strategy implementation highlights for 2024 are also available.
Summary
New South Wales met air quality standards at least 97% of the time, except for 2 Hunter stations. Lake Macquarie, Central Coast and Southern Tablelands regions met all air quality standards all of the time. Compared to 2023, the state had cleaner air, largely because of lower particle emissions.
Gases
- Standards for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and hourly nitrogen dioxide were met.
- Ozone exceeded the standard on 3 days (25 January, 26 November and 13 December) and the nitrogen dioxide annual standard was exceeded at Bradfield Highway roadside station.
Particles
- PM10 levels in 2024 met the daily standard on all but 18 days, with exceedances occurring at 9 stations, down from 29 days at 21 stations in 2023. Exceedances in 2024 were most common from January to May.
- PM2.5 levels met the daily standard on all but 20 days, with exceedances occurring at 9 stations, down from 24 days at 27 stations in 2023. Exceedances were most common in June to July due to winter wood smoke, and in September due to hazard reduction burns.
- Despite above-average temperatures, higher rainfall totals in 2024 compared to 2023 helped ease drought in New South Wales. This led to better air quality with fewer events like bushfires, dust storms and hazard reduction burns.
- All stations except for 3 – Bradfield Highway, Stockton and Warkworth – met particle annual standards.
Hunter Valley
- Air quality in the Hunter also improved compared to 2023.
- Among the larger population centre stations there were 6 days above the PM10 benchmark, excluding Stockton, similar to 7 days in 2023.
- In the Upper Hunter, the PM10 benchmark was exceeded on 30 days, down from 48 days in 2023.
- Stockton and Warkworth stations, due to local influences like sea salt on 42 days and mining on 25 days respectively, met air quality standards 89% and 93% of the time respectively. Both had fewer exceedances compared to 2023.
Monitoring network and reporting
Data in this report comes from 56 stations using compliant ambient air quality monitoring methods, spread across 16 NSW air quality regions. This includes high population areas and industrial areas like the Upper Hunter and Newcastle Local (around the Port of Newcastle).
- The main report includes data from 45 compliance stations in metropolitan and regional centres, including 9 in the Hunter Valley excluding Stockton. These data are assessed against national standards. Note symbology where used in this report:
- ^ data is excluded for Stockton station in the Newcastle Local region
- # Merriwa, Aberdeen, Singleton and Muswellbrook are included as Upper Hunter stations.
- The Hunter Valley focus area includes data from 20 compliance air quality monitoring stations: 14 in the Upper Hunter region, 3 in Newcastle Local, and 3 in the Lower Hunter. The Upper Hunter and Newcastle Local stations primarily capture local industrial pollution influences. National standards serve as benchmarks for assessing these data. The Stockton station data are presented in this section.
- Data from the compliant air quality monitoring stations at Cammeray and Milthorpe were excluded from the report because they are for research purposes. Similarly, particle data from the 41 indicative air quality monitoring stations in the rural areas were excluded from this report.
Please note that data from 20 to 31 December 2024 have undergone preliminary validation only.