air-quality-examples

State Air Quality Category Tables

Last updated on February 27, 2024

Disclaimer: Data presented here come from a variety of sources and do not represent official EPA measurements. Please visit AirNow for official measurements.

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The US EPA defines the following Air Quality Categories:

• Good – Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
• Moderate – Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
• USG (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) – Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected.
• Unhealthy – Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
• Very Unhealthy – Health alert: The risk of health effects is increased for everyone.
• Hazardous – Health warning of emergency conditions: everyone is more likely to be affected.

The number of days a community spends in each category is a useful health statistic. The US EPA recently announced updated NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) for PM2.5. The lowered thresholds will result in a change in the number of days communities experience each Air Quality Category (AQC).

US Annual Daily AQC Report

A nation-wide summary of cumulative Air Quality Category days each year is available in the US Annual report.

Daily AQC Reports by State and Month

The following table provides links to reports summarizing the cumulative number of days PM2.5 monitors spent in each Air Quality Category during a given month. These tables and plots are calculated using existing (2023) and updated (2024) PM2.5 NAAQS and allow for an easy review of the impact of the updated NAAWQS. Each report covers one state for a given month with tables and plots for the years 2014 to 2023.

Alabama

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Alaska

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Arizona

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Arkansas

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

California

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Colorado

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Connecticut

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Delaware

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Florida

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Georgia

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Hawaii

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Idaho

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Illinois

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Indiana

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Iowa

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Kansas

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Kentucky

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Louisiana

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Maine

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Maryland

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Massachusetts

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Michigan

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Minnesota

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Mississippi

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Missouri

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Montana

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Nebraska

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Nevada

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

New Hampshire

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

New Jersey

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

New Mexico

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

New York

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

North Carolina

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

North Dakota

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ohio

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Oklahoma

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Oregon

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Pennsylvania

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Rhode Island

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

South Carolina

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

South Dakota

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Tennessee

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Texas

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Utah

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Vermont

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Virginia

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Washington

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

West Virginia

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Wisconsin

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Wyoming

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Note that these reports do not include data from temporary monitors.

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Source code for generating these reports is available at: https://github.com/MazamaScience/air-quality-examples/tree/main/2024/State_AQC_Tables

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