During wildfire season, it’s important to monitor the AQI, or air quality index, frequently, as levels can change by the hour. You should start getting concerned when the AQI reaches above 100.
There are a growing number of options for monitoring air quality. One trend is toward neighborhood-level monitoring, made possible by crowdsourced data from private sensors. There can be discrepancies and glitches in all systems, but quality control is a big part of the effort.
Here are a few of the most popular options for checking air quality near you:
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the first regional air pollution control agency in the United States. It reports hour-by-hour air quality data — the most reliable in Berkeley — from a monitor in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park, though the monitor has been down since June.Â
- AirNow is run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Its fire and smoke map uses both government sensors and data from private sensors.
- PurpleAir is a technology company using its own private sensors that people can install at their homes, starting at around $200. In general, PurpleAir’s real-time air quality map provides more localized, more current and less accurate readings than AirNow. Wood smoke particles, less dense than most PM 2.5 particles, can artificially elevate AQI readings, though PurpleAir has made strides to account for the issue.
- Clairity is a Berkeley-based company that offers relatively low-cost and easy to install wildfire smoke monitoring kits.
- IQ Air has an app called AirVisual and was built by a Swiss air quality company with its own sensor. The network taps into community participation by individuals or groups.
Each of the above options display AQI readings as a number and a color, most of which appear on maps updated dozens of times a day. The East Bay remains green for most of the year, meaning the concentration of pollutants is scored below 50. That means the air is safe outside.
When the AQI rises above 100, entering the orange stage, it triggers a Spare the Air alert, encouraging you to drive less and use combustible sources of fuel as little as possible. The BAAQMD, which issues those alerts, says particulate matter is the most common form of pollutant between November and February. It issued more alerts in 2020 than ever before.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the BAAQMD’s official air quality station in Berkeley has been down since October 2021, when it was vandalized. It was fixed as of this January, but went off-line again in June.
read more about air quality
How wildfires affect air quality in the Bay Area and what to do to protect yourself
How do wildfires affect air pollution? How bad is smoke for my health? How do I track air quality and protect myself from smoke?
