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Air Quality Today

The Air Quality Index is a daily index of air quality that reports how clean the air is and provides information on potential health risks. 

Oregon’s index is based on three pollutants regulated by the federal Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution and nitrogen dioxide. The highest of the AQI values for the individual pollutants becomes the AQI value for that day. For example, if values are 90 for ozone and 88 for nitrogen dioxide, the AQI reported would be 90 for the pollutant ozone on that day.

View Air Quality Index
phone icon A mobile app is also now available for smart phones. Simply search for OregonAir in your app store. 
​DEQ has updated its Air Quality Index to better serve the public and put more data at users’ fingertips. The color-coded tool categorizes air quality at more than 37 stations around Oregon. To use the index, simply click on a dot on the map to see what air quality is like at a station near you. The dots on the map change color depending on the current air quality readings at each station. You’ll notice that some dots on the map are larger, which indicates an area has multiple monitors.
 
The updated Air Quality Index includes a number of new features:
  • Meteorological data
  • Historical data that can be downloaded
  • Tools to analyze data
  • Information on air quality conditions in Lane County
The video tutorials below will walk you through how to use the new Air Quality Index:
The index tells you how clean the air you breathe is and what health effects one may experience when air quality is at given levels. Air pollution can be a particular concern to the elderly, children and those with respiratory conditions, but high levels of pollution can affect everyone. The higher the value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, a value of 50 or below represents good air quality with little potential to affect even those with respiratory conditions, while a value over 300 represents hazardous air quality and is likely to affect even healthy individuals
 
For more information on the AQI and how it is calculated visit A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health on the AirNow Web site.
​In 1980, only 30% of Oregonians lived in clean air areas that met national health standards for air pollution. Today, all areas in Oregon meet these standards. This success is the result of clean air strategies developed by DEQ with the participation of affected communities, businesses and citizens. At the same time, DEQ is addressing another group of pollutants, air toxics, that has emerged as a serious concern. Many areas of the state have air toxics that are above EPA health-based benchmarks. Air toxics have serious health effects such as cancer and nervous system damage, but there are currently no national health standards for these pollutants. DEQ currently is focusing on air toxic pollutants, including benzene and diesel particulate, that have emerged as a significant concern.
 


Additional Oregon AQI resources