Processed on 2024-03-04 13:46:18 PST.

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

Cumulative exposure to smoke is an important public health metric. This report summarizes the cumulative number of days air quality monitors in North Carolina spent in each AQI category during the the month of August.

The tables below include only permanent monitors measuring PM2.5 and show cumulative exposure under existing NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) and under the 2024 revised standards for PM2.5.

In the tables and plots below, ‘Old’ designates cumulative days calculated using the 2023 PM2.5 NAAQS while ‘New’ is calculated using the 2024 revised PM2.5 NAAQS. The impact of the NAAQS revision is quite clear.

August in North Carolina

August 2014 – 13 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 230 77 0 0 0 0 13
New 148 159 0 0 0 0 13

August 2015 – 12 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 179 32 0 0 0 0 13
New 117 94 0 0 0 0 13

August 2016 – 31 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 314 6 0 0 0 0 32
New 260 60 0 0 0 0 32

August 2017 – 14 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 362 51 0 0 0 0 35
New 239 174 0 0 0 0 35

August 2018 – 35 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 391 61 0 0 0 0 28
New 288 164 0 0 0 0 28

August 2019 – 20 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 502 24 0 0 0 0 50
New 362 164 0 0 0 0 50

August 2020 – 45 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 590 28 0 0 0 0 86
New 466 152 0 0 0 0 86

August 2021 – 24 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 470 205 0 0 0 0 93
New 320 355 0 0 0 0 93

August 2022 – 25 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 689 12 0 0 0 0 67
New 605 96 0 0 0 0 67

August 2023 – 26 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 553 129 0 0 0 0 54
New 372 310 0 0 0 0 54