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Air Quality Index

The Air Quality Index (AQI) reports daily air quality to tell you how clean your air is and what associated health concerns you should be aware of. 

This standard nationwide method, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), describes ambient air quality concentration levels for sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in a specific time period.

These pollutant concentrations are measured and converted to numbers on a scale, where a value of 100 would be equal to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

Green is good, index 5 to 50, air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk. Yellow is moderate risk, index 51 to 100, air quality is acceptable but there may be a risk for people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. Orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups, index 101 to 150, member of sensitive groups may experience health affects. Red is unhealthy, index 151-200, some members of the general public may experience health affects and members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health affects. Purple is very unhealthy, index 201 to 300, health alert the risk of health affects is increased for everyone. Maroon is hazardous, index more than 301, health warning of emergency conditions everyone is more likely to be affected.

Visit the EPA’s official AirNow website, or download the EPA AIRNow app, for current AQI readings. The AQI is forecasted daily at approximately 11 a.m. and updated as needed at approximately 4 p.m. The Friday forecast includes the forecasts for Saturday and Sunday.

For additional information on Pinellas County AQI forecasts, call (727) 464-4422, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE: Pinellas County regulates our network of air monitors, performs routine maintenance and quality checks, and reviews data for accuracy according to EPA regulatory requirements. Our monitor data is utilized for regulatory decision-making. If you use websites or applications other than AirNow to look up air quality conditions, the accuracy of the data is unknown. Other sources of sensor and modeling data included in calculations on third-party websites may not adhere to regulatory requirements.

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