What is a Kilopascal?

The kilopascal equals 1,000 pascals and is the standard everyday pressure unit on tire labels (in metric countries), weather forecasts (often expressed as hPa or hectopascals, where 100 kPa = 1 atmosphere), and modern engineering documents. Car tire pressures are typically 200–250 kPa (29–36 psi), medical blood-pressure cuffs measure in mmHg but research increasingly uses kPa, and industrial process pressures are routinely given in kPa. The kilopascal is the most-used pressure unit in metric engineering practice, replacing the older 'kg/cm²' (kilogram-force per square centimeter, ≈ 98 kPa). It relates to the pascal (1,000 Pa = 1 kPa), the megapascal (1,000 kPa = 1 MPa), the bar (1 bar = 100 kPa), the psi (1 psi ≈ 6.895 kPa), and the atmosphere (1 atm ≈ 101.325 kPa). European tire pressure labels universally use kPa or bar.

Visual reference for how the kilopascal relates to other pressure units. Each row links to the full converter for that pair.

• Tyre pressures in Canada, Australia
• Engineering pressure specs
• Weather pressure in some contexts

• ✓1 kPa = 1000 Pa = 0.01 bar = 0.145 psi.
• ✓100 kPa ≈ 1 bar.
• ✓Commonly used on tyre manuals in Commonwealth countries.

• ✗Confusing kPa with kW or kJ.
• ✗Using kPa when bar would be simpler.
• ✗Mixing absolute and gauge in kPa without specification.