Governor Kathy Hochul on June 11th, encouraged New York residents and visitors to include air quality awareness in their daily warm weather routines. To keep New Yorkers aware, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation provides daily air quality forecasts to ensure air quality information is available at New Yorkers’ fingertips. While New York State has some of the nation’s most stringent air quality regulations to reduce air pollution and protect public health and the environment, there are certain days that ozone or particulate matter can impact air quality in your community.

“Public safety is my top priority and as we enter summer months, New Yorkers should stay informed and prepared for any changes in air quality,” Governor Hochul said. “While it’s too soon to advise if New York will experience orange skies due to wildfire smoke this summer, I encourage all New Yorkers to pay attention to the State’s Air Quality Health Advisories and take necessary precautions to stay safe.”

One year ago this month, many New York State communities were blanketed with dense smoke from eastern Canadian wildfires which contributed to significant air pollution from fine particles and led to extensive outreach from state environmental and health officials about precautions to take to prevent potentially harmful exposure.

In the days that followed, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Department of Health (DOH) issued Air Quality Health Advisories when DEC meteorologists predicted levels of pollution, either ozone or fine particulate matter (PM2.5), were expected to exceed an Air Quality Index (AQI) value of 100. At or above that value means air quality may be unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as people with asthma, heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teenagers, minority populations, and outdoor workers. The AQI was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale, with a higher AQI value indicating a greater health concern.

DEC encourages New Yorkers to check airnow.gov for accurate information on air quality forecasts and conditions.

AQI Health Guidelines

AQI health guidelines are associated with recommendations to protect impacted population/s.

• 0-50: Good – Air quality is considered satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk.
• 51-100: Moderate – Air quality is acceptable. However, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are usually sensitive to air pollution.
• 101-150: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups – Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected. Sensitive groups include people with asthma, heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teenagers, minority populations, and outdoor workers.
• 151-200: Unhealthy – Everyone may begin to experience healthy effects. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
• 201-300: Very Unhealthy – Health alert. Everyone may experience more serious health effects.
• 301-500: Hazardous – Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.
• Air pollution can harm public health and natural resources in a variety of ways. Hot summer weather sets the stage for two major pollutants of concern for human health: the formation of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), tiny solid particles or liquid droplets in the air that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter. Fish and wildlife show harmful effects from acid rain and mercury in air. Greenhouse gases in the air are changing the world's climate and contributing to harmful impacts including extreme heat, deadly flooding, drought, fires, rising sea levels, and severe storms.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said, “Current forecast models indicate Quebec and Ontario have a low to moderate predicted risk of wildfires, with a higher risk of fires, and their corresponding particulate matter, in the western states and Canadian provinces. However, New Yorkers should expect to see elevated ozone levels at least a few more times this summer. To become Air Quality Aware, DEC encourages the public to visit DEC’s website for the daily forecast or use trusted sources like EPA’s AirNow app, which utilizes air quality data provided by DEC’s statewide monitoring network.”

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “New Yorkers have excellent tools like airnow.gov that allow for easy air quality monitoring. In the morning I check the weather on my phone and the air quality, it is part of my morning routine. Knowing air quality is especially important for those with heart and lung diseases, as well as the young and those over 65.”

To stay up-to-date with announcements from DEC, sign up to receive Air Quality Alerts through DEC Delivers. Visit dec.ny.gov for updated forecasts and information about air quality index levels, and Department of Health website for information on health risks and precautions related to air quality.

Due in large part to New York’s stringent air quality requirements and monitoring, the State has recorded significant reductions in statewide emissions of pollutants from major facilities from 2000 to 2022:

• Particulate matter – 88 percent;
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) - 97 percent;
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) – 81 percent;
• Volatile organic compounds (VOC) – 67 percent;
• Carbon Monoxide (CO) – 58 percent; and
• Hazardous air pollutants (HAP) - 73 percent.

From 2000 to 2022, monitored ambient levels of pollutants statewide were also reduced:

• Particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) – 50 percent
• SO2 – 90 percent
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – 30 percent
• Ozone – 12 percent

In February, EPA strengthened the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5. The lower standard is expected to result in more days identified higher on the AQI scale but that does not mean PM2.5 pollution in New York State has gotten worse. The changes to the AQI reflect the latest science on particle pollution and health, and EPA updates to the annual standard for fine particle pollution. For more on the new standards including a list of commonly asked questions, visit the AirNow website.

Did you know that DEC has a team of meteorologists using the latest science to keep New Yorkers informed about air quality across our state?

Check out “DEC Does What?!” Podcast Episode #4 The Air Up There where air pollution meteorologists Abigail Komarc and Sarah Lechleitner explain the Air Quality Index and how to use it, how weather conditions and different seasons can affect air quality, whether we have to worry about wildfire smoke again this summer, and what it’s like to measure air quality in Antarctica.