Processed on 2024-03-04 13:58:51 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 October.

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.

October in Rhode Island

October 2014 – 2 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 59 0 0 0 0 0 5
New 59 0 0 0 0 0 5

October 2015 – 2 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 60 2 0 0 0 0 2
New 57 5 0 0 0 0 2

October 2016 – 7 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 55 0 0 0 0 0 9
New 53 2 0 0 0 0 9

October 2017 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 115 0 0 0 0 0 13
New 107 8 0 0 0 0 13

October 2018 – 9 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 113 1 0 0 0 0 14
New 108 6 0 0 0 0 14

October 2019 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 110 3 0 0 0 0 15
New 103 10 0 0 0 0 15

October 2020 – 10 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 149 0 0 0 0 0 11
New 138 11 0 0 0 0 11

October 2021 – 5 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 138 0 0 0 0 0 22
New 131 7 0 0 0 0 22

October 2022 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 100 5 0 0 0 0 23
New 95 10 0 0 0 0 23

October 2023 – 7 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 126 20 0 0 0 0 78
New 108 38 0 0 0 0 78