Processed on 2024-03-04 13:57:28 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 Rhode Island spent in each AQI category during the the month of February.

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.

February in Rhode Island

February 2014 – 2 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 52 4 0 0 0 0 0
New 45 11 0 0 0 0 0

February 2015 – 2 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 52 2 0 0 0 0 2
New 45 9 0 0 0 0 2

February 2016 – 7 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 49 2 0 0 0 0 7
New 44 7 0 0 0 0 7

February 2017 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 45 0 0 0 0 0 11
New 45 0 0 0 0 0 11

February 2018 – 9 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 100 8 0 0 0 0 4
New 86 22 0 0 0 0 4

February 2019 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 95 14 0 0 0 0 3
New 89 20 0 0 0 0 3

February 2020 – 10 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 124 7 0 0 0 0 14
New 110 21 0 0 0 0 14

February 2021 – 5 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 132 6 0 0 0 0 2
New 120 18 0 0 0 0 2

February 2022 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 106 3 0 0 0 0 3
New 99 10 0 0 0 0 3

February 2023 – 7 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 167 1 0 0 0 0 0
New 138 30 0 0 0 0 0