Air Quality Information Source (AirNow)

AirNow is a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service, NASA, Centers for Disease Control, and tribal, state, and local air quality agencies. 

Agencies all over the country send their monitoring data to AirNow for display. The Department of State provides data from U.S. Embassies and Consulates to inform personnel and citizens overseas, and the U.S. Forest Service and NOAA provide fire and smoke data.

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AirNow’s centralized data system provides quality control, national reporting consistency, and the ability to distribute data to the public, researchers, businesses, educators, and to other data systems.

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The Air Quality Index (AQI) is divided into color-coded categories and each category is identified by a simple informative descriptor. The descriptors are intended to convey information to the public about how air quality relates to public health. The table below defines the AQI categories.​​