Palmetto Bay Air Quality Index

What is AQI?

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a nationwide, standard method developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for reporting daily air quality to the public in a health-related manner. It tells you how clean your air is, and what associated health concerns you should be aware of. The AQI describes ambient air quality concentration levels for sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in terms of a concentration index for the highest pollutant level in a specific time period. The pollutant concentrations are measured and converted to numbers based on a mathematical formula that transforms ambient pollutant concentrations onto a scale where an AQI of 100 would be equal to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

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. 

Visit AirNow  for current Air Quality Index readings.  AirNow  is EPA’s official site to locate Air Quality Index data which meets stringent regulatory requirements and is used in regulatory decision-making. Airnow.gov has a downloadable app for use on personal devices.

PLEASE NOTE: The air monitors in our network are regulated, undergo routine maintenance and quality checks, and the data is reviewed for accuracy, all according to EPA regulatory requirements. Our monitor data is utilized for regulatory decision-making. If you use websites or applications other than the AirNow  site 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 any such regulatory requirements.