Air Quality Index

Air Quality Index (AQI) tells you how clean or filthy your air is and what health impacts you should be concerned about. The AQI is concerned with the health consequences of inhaling dirty air within a few hours or days. The AQI for five key air pollutants controlled by the Clean Air Act is calculated by the EPA: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (commonly known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. To safeguard human health, the EPA has developed national air quality guidelines for each of these contaminants. The two pollutants that represent the biggest damage to human health in our nation are ground-level ozone and airborne particles.

Synonyms for air quality index: air-contamination, befoulment, pollution