Years ago, after a particularly bad incident, we discovered there is a way to check air quality in places around the world.
An air quality index (AQI) is a number used by government agencies to tell the public how polluted their air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. As the AQI increases, an increasingly large percentage of the population is likely to experience increasingly severe adverse health effects. Different countries have their own air quality indices, corresponding to different national air quality standards.
What does ‘poor’ air quality mean?
An AQI between 100 and 200 comes under the ‘moderate’ category, 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, while that between 401 and 500 ‘severe’. So if you have concerns about the quality of the air you breathe, you can check this website.
World’s Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index
A website allowing government agencies anywhere in the world to submit their real-time air monitoring data for display using a common definition of the air quality index is available at http://waqi.info/ The World Air Quality Index project is a non-profit project started in 2007. Its mission is to promote Air Pollution awareness for citizens and provide a unified and world-wide Air Quality information.
United Kingdom
The air quality index in the UK is the Daily Air Quality Index recommended by the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollutants. This index has ten points, which are further grouped into 4 bands: low, moderate, high and very high. Each of the bands comes with advice for at-risk groups and the general population.
| Air pollution banding | Value | Health messages for At-risk individuals | Health messages for General population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 1–3 | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. |
| Moderate | 4–6 | Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, who experience symptoms, should consider reducing strenuous physical activity, particularly outdoors. | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. |
| High | 7–9 | Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion. | Anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity, particularly outdoors. |
| Very High | 10 | Adults and children with lung problems, adults with heart problems, and older people, should avoid strenuous physical activity. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. | Reduce physical exertion, particularly outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms such as cough or sore throat. |
United States
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality Index is divided into six categories indicating increasing levels of health concern. An AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality and below 50 the air quality is good.
| Air Quality Index (AQI) Values | Levels of Health Concern | Colors |
| 0 to 50 | Good | Green |
| 51 to 100 | Moderate | Yellow |
| 101 to 150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | Orange |
| 151 to 200 | Unhealthy | Red |
| 201 to 300 | Very Unhealthy | Purple |
| 301 to 500 | Hazardous | Maroon |
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