Processed on 2024-03-04 14:14:39 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 Washington spent in each AQI category during the the month of September.

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.

September in Washington

September 2014 – 30 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 832 39 2 0 0 0 57
New 769 102 2 0 0 0 57

September 2015 – 41 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 981 38 2 2 0 0 93
New 946 73 2 2 0 0 93

September 2016 – 112 permanent monitors

Processing error: Unable to calculate tables.

September 2017 – 52 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 912 267 38 74 26 0 78
New 818 359 38 63 37 2 78

September 2018 – 130 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 55 4 0 0 0 0 3
New 52 7 0 0 0 0 3

September 2019 – 67 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 1690 8 0 0 0 0 100
New 1665 33 0 0 0 0 100

September 2020 – 129 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 62 17 6 12 3 0 24
New 47 32 6 10 5 0 24

September 2021 – 71 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 1733 163 16 7 0 0 96
New 1644 251 16 8 0 0 96

September 2022 – 83 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 1488 427 67 60 4 0 124
New 1295 617 70 60 4 0 124

September 2023 – 106 permanent monitors

Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Hazardous Missing
Old 2141 70 0 0 0 0 145
New 2014 197 0 0 0 0 145