Processed on 2024-03-04 13:59:10 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 December.

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.

December in Rhode Island

December 2014 – 2 permanent monitors

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

December 2015 – 2 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 55 7 0 0 0 0 0
New 39 23 0 0 0 0 0

December 2016 – 7 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 59 2 0 0 0 0 1
New 56 5 0 0 0 0 1

December 2017 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 107 13 0 0 0 0 4
New 82 38 0 0 0 0 4

December 2018 – 9 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 115 8 0 0 0 0 1
New 101 22 0 0 0 0 1

December 2019 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 104 12 0 0 0 0 8
New 91 25 0 0 0 0 8

December 2020 – 10 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 122 23 0 0 0 0 10
New 107 38 0 0 0 0 10

December 2021 – 5 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 117 7 0 0 0 0 31
New 102 22 0 0 0 0 31

December 2022 – 4 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 111 8 0 0 0 0 5
New 101 18 0 0 0 0 5

December 2023 – 7 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 117 14 0 0 0 0 19
New 98 33 0 0 0 0 19