How's the Air Right Now?
The Air Quality Index: The Current Air Quality
The SkyCast gives us the ground-level ozone forecast. It’s not always easy to tell what the current air quality conditions are. The Air Quality Index (AQI) tells us the air quality based on pollution measurements from the previous day and probable weather conditions.
Yesterday's Air Quality Information |
|
|---|---|
| Date: | 10/30/2008 |
| Responsible Pollutant: | Ozone |
| Air Quality Index: | 48 |
| Category: | Good |
| Today's Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts | |
Reading the AQI
The Air Quality Index and the SkyCast use the same color scale with the same meanings. The AQI also gives us a numeric value that estimates the presence of ozone in parts per billion (ppb).
| SkyCast | Air Quality | AQI Value | Protect Your Health | AirQ Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Green (Healthy) |
0-50 | No health impacts expected. | Everyday Actions |
| Moderate | Yellow (Elevated Ozone Concentration) |
51-100 | Sensitive people, such as those with respiratory ailments or allergies, should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion. | Everyday Actions |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | Orange (Ozone Alert) |
101-150 | Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. | Ozone Alert Actions |
| Unhealthy | Red (Ozone Alert) |
151-200 | Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. | Ozone Alert Actions |