Air Quality in New York
Air quality index (AQI⁺) and PM2.5 air pollution in New York •
Get Alerts For Unhealthy AQI In Your Area
When air quality in your area reaches unhealthy levels, we'll send you a quick alert, along with expert tips on how to reduce your exposure.
Live Air Quality Ratings in New York
Live Most Polluted City Ranking
Real-time most polluted cities in New York
Live Cleanest City Ranking
Real-time cleanest cities in New York
The Right Air Filter For High AQI Days
When outdoor air quality drops, the EPA recommends upgrading to a MERV 13 filter — or the highest-rated filter your HVAC system can handle — to help capture more of the fine particulate (PM2.5) that comes with poor air quality. MERV 13 is the highest rating most residential systems can run without restricting airflow.
- Captures PM2.5 and other fine particulates
- Filters ash, soot, and smoke particles
- Rated to capture particles as small as 0.3 microns
- Matches the filter rating the EPA suggests during high-AQI and smoke events
AQI FAQs
What is AQI?
AQI stands for Air Quality Index, the EPA's scale for reporting daily air quality. It runs from 0 to 500. The higher the number, the greater the level of air pollution. Values at or below 100 are generally considered satisfactory; values above 100 mean air quality is unhealthy, first for sensitive groups, then for everyone as numbers climb.
What does AQI measure?
The AQI tracks five major pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The reported AQI value reflects whichever pollutant is highest at that time — most often ozone or fine particles (PM2.5).
How is AQI calculated?
Monitoring stations measure pollutant concentrations, and the EPA converts each into a standardized 0–500 score using set breakpoints. Each pollutant gets its own sub-index, and the highest sub-index becomes the reported AQI. That's why a single number can represent different pollutants on different days.
What is a good AQI?
An AQI of 0–50 is rated "Good" — air quality poses little or no risk. 51–100 is "Moderate," acceptable for most people though unusually sensitive individuals may want to limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Anything at or below 100 is generally considered satisfactory air quality.
What does an AQI of 100 (or 150) mean?
100 is the dividing line: at or below it, air quality is satisfactory for the general public. From 101–150, air is "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" — people with respiratory conditions, older adults, and children. From 151–200, it's "Unhealthy" and everyone may begin to feel effects.
Why is the AQI bad today?
Short-term AQI spikes usually come from wildfire smoke, temperature inversions that trap pollutants near the ground, high-ozone weather (hot, sunny, stagnant days), or heavy traffic and industrial activity. Check a real-time source like the map on this page to see which pollutant is driving today's reading in your area.
What AQI is bad for running or exercise?
Many runners follow the EPA category lines: below 50, no adjustment needed; 51–100, unusually sensitive people may shorten intense workouts; above 100, sensitive groups are advised to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion; above 150, that advice extends to everyone. Exercise increases how much air you breathe in, which is why thresholds matter more during workouts.
What AQI is safe to open windows?
A common rule of thumb is to keep windows open when the AQI is under 100 and close them when it climbs above, especially during wildfire smoke events when fine particles are elevated. When windows are closed, running your HVAC system with a fresh filter helps capture particles circulating indoors.
Should I wear a mask based on AQI?
Public health agencies generally suggest considering a well-fitted N95-style respirator outdoors when the AQI exceeds 150, particularly during smoke events. Cloth and surgical masks don't filter fine particles effectively. Follow guidance from your local health department, which may adjust recommendations during severe episodes.
New York Air Quality Today: Live AQI Map and Index
TL;DR
The map above shows New York's current Air Quality Index, drawn from EPA-referenced monitors and refreshed through the day. New York forecasts eight separate regions, so one number never describes the state. Ozone drives most unhealthy days downstate; particulate spikes are the upstate problem. Only one of the two is a filtration problem.
Key Takeaways
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) forecasts air quality for eight Air Quality Health Advisory regions, not one statewide number.
DEC and the state Department of Health issue an Air Quality Health Advisory when forecast ozone or PM2.5 is expected to exceed an AQI of 100.
State of the Air 2026 ranked the New York–Newark metro 12th worst of 226 U.S. metros for ozone, a grade set by Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Ozone breaks down indoors. Fine particulate does not. Removing PM2.5 takes filtration.
How to Read New York's Live AQI Map
The live map above reports New York's current AQI from EPA-referenced monitors, color-coded to the six official categories. It also names the pollutant behind each reading. Read that field before the number: it tells you whether tonight is a close-the-windows evening or a change-the-filter evening.
Looking for the five boroughs? New York City sits inside DEC's NYC Metro advisory region along with Rockland and Westchester counties. For borough-level readings and what they mean inside a city apartment, see the Filterbuy New York City air quality map. There are also separate pages for Yonkers and New Rochelle.
New York's Eight Air Quality Advisory Regions
DEC divides the state into eight Air Quality Health Advisory regions and forecasts each separately. Two regions can sit in different categories on the same afternoon, so read your region rather than a statewide headline. Outside New York, use the Filterbuy national AQI map.
| Advisory Region | Counties | What Usually Drives the AQI Here |
|---|---|---|
| Long Island | Nassau, Suffolk | Summer ozone, coastal transport, traffic |
| NYC Metro | New York City, Rockland, Westchester | Summer ozone, traffic particulate, wildfire smoke |
| Lower Hudson Valley | Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Ulster, Sullivan | Ozone moving north from the metro, valley inversions |
| Upper Hudson Valley | Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Washington | Short-term particulate spikes, winter heating |
| Adirondacks | Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, northern Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Warren | Transported Canadian smoke, wood heat in winter |
| Eastern Lake Ontario | Northern Cayuga, Jefferson, Monroe, Oswego, Wayne | Lake-effect weather, transported smoke |
| Central New York | Allegany, Broome, southern Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, southern Herkimer, Livingston, Madison, Onondaga, Oneida, Ontario, Otsego, Tioga, Tompkins, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Yates | Valley inversions, wood heat, transported smoke |
| Western New York | Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming | Great Lakes weather, smoke arriving before downstate |
What Each AQI Level Means in New York
The Air Quality Index runs from 0 to 500 across six categories. DEC defines sensitive groups broadly: children, older adults, pregnant people, anyone with a lung or heart condition, and outdoor workers. If that includes you, orange at 101 is your line, not red at 151.
| AQI | Category | What It Usually Means Here | What to Do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–50 | Good | Clear, breezy days across much of the state | A good day to be outside |
| 51–100 | Moderate | New York's most common range, especially downstate in summer | Fine for most; unusually sensitive people may ease up |
| 101–150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | Summer ozone afternoons downstate, light smoke anywhere | Sensitive groups: shorter, easier activity and more breaks |
| 151–200 | Unhealthy | Heavier smoke episodes | Everyone cuts back; sensitive groups move indoors |
| 201–300 | Very Unhealthy | Rare, major smoke events | Avoid outdoor exertion and follow the advisory |
| 301+ | Hazardous | Reached in New York City and parts of upstate during the June 2023 smoke event | Emergency conditions. Stay indoors, keep activity low |
Why Your Weather App Shows a Different Air Quality Number
Your phone and this map can disagree by 40 points and both be right. The official AQI is an average: 8 hours for ozone, 24 hours for fine particulate, while most weather apps report raw hourly readings. DEC states directly that the two should not be compared.
Filterbuy runs its own live smoke map, and the plume routinely outruns the average. Trust your eyes and nose for the next hour and the AQI for the day. If the sky smells like smoke, close the windows.
Is the Air Safe to Breathe in New York Today?
Whether New York's air is safe today depends on what the live AQI map shows for your region. Readings from 51 to 100 are acceptable for most people. Above 100 sensitive groups should ease off, and above 150 everyone should. If you have asthma, COPD or heart disease, your clinician’s plan takes precedence.
Ozone Downstate, Particles Upstate: What Drives New York's Air
New York has two air quality problems, not one. Downstate, ground-level ozone drives most unhealthy days, forming when sunlight reacts with vehicle and industrial emissions on hot, stagnant afternoons. Upstate, particulate spikes are the recurring issue.
DEC calls ground-level ozone the most serious air pollution problem in the northeast, and high ozone is invisible: hazy skies, not smoke. Nine downstate counties sit in a nonattainment area EPA reclassified the area from Moderate to Serious on July 25, 2024.
That distinction decides what to do indoors. Ozone breaks down indoors, so closing the windows on a high-ozone afternoon does most of the work. Fine particulate does not. PM2.5 drifts in around windows and doors and stays suspended, so removing it takes filtration.
So, plainly: on an ozone day, upgrading your filter is not the answer, and Filterbuy would rather say so than sell you one. On a particle day, filtration is most of it.
How New York Issues Air Quality Alerts, and How to Get Warned
New York's official alert is an Air Quality Health Advisory, issued by DEC and the state Department of Health when forecasters expect ozone or fine particulate to exceed an AQI of 100. Most people search for an air quality alert; the advisory is the same thing under its official name.
Advisories are issued region by region, and the list can grow. On June 19, 2023, New York named only Western and Central New York while the rest of the state stayed good to moderate. On July 15, 2026, the advisory opened for three western regions and covered all eight before the day was out. Check which regions are named, then check again after lunch.
DEC publishes a next-day forecast for all eight regions, and AirNow's EnviroFlash emails alerts before conditions shift.
Treat an advisory as notice about tomorrow, and act the evening before.
How Canadian Wildfire Smoke Crosses New York
Smoke from Quebec and Ontario reaches New York from the north and the west, so the North Country and Western New York usually register it before downstate does. In June 2023 New York City’s AQI peaked at 465, per New York City Emergency Management. In July 2026 New York City crested at 289.
When smoke moves in, work in this order.
Close windows and doors until the plume clears.
Switch the HVAC to recirculate and run the fan continuously, not on Auto. EPA puts that change alone at roughly 24 percent fewer indoor particles even with an ordinary low-efficiency filter in the slot.
Run the highest MERV filter your system is rated for. A MERV 13 filter captures up to about 95 percent of the smoke particles that pass through it, and EPA puts the practical indoor effect at roughly 50 percent with the fan running. Add an activated carbon filter for smoke odor.
Run a portable HEPA air cleaner in the bedroom, which EPA says substantially lowers indoor PM2.5 and costs less to run than the whole house.
Skip the outdoor workout. Hard breathing pulls particulate deeper into the lungs.
Track plumes on the Filterbuy live wildfire and smoke map and the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map, which tracks moving plumes better.
How New York's Metro Areas Rank Nationally
The American Lung Association's State of the Air 2026 ranks metro areas on ozone and two particle measures, using EPA data from 2022 through 2024. New York's metros show the split plainly: downstate fails on ozone, upstate largely passes.
The letter grades show short-term particle pollution performance: A = Best, B = Good, C = Moderate, D = Poor, and F = Worst.
| Metro Area | Ozone | Year-Round Particles | Short-Term Particles |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York–Newark | F. 12th worst of 226, from 16th. Fairfield County, CT, 21+ unhealthy days | Passing, best-ever. 78th worst, from 48th | D, up from F. 69th worst. Queens County |
| Buffalo–Cheektowaga–Olean | B. 143rd worst. Erie and Niagara, 0.7 days | Passing, improved. 144th worst | C. 137th worst. Erie County, worst values since the 2011 report |
| Rochester–Batavia–Seneca Falls | C. 125th worst. Wayne County, 1.3 days | Passing. 164th worst | D. 89th worst. Monroe County, 2.2 days |
| Syracuse–Auburn | B. 143rd worst. Onondaga County, 0.7 days | Passing. 20th best in the nation | D. 76th worst. Onondaga County, 2.5 days |
| Albany–Schenectady | B. 143rd worst. Albany County, 0.7 days | Passing, matches best-ever. 171st worst | D, worst-ever. 69th worst. Albany County, 2.8 days |
| Elmira–Corning | B. 169th worst. 0.3 days | Passing. Tied 16th best in the nation | F. 53rd worst. Steuben County, 3.3 days |
New York–Newark has failed on ozone for three straight reports while its particle pollution posted its best-ever result. Soot is improving in New York. Smog is not. Each grade reflects the metro’s worst county, and Fairfield County, Connecticut sets the ozone rank. Compare on the Filterbuy New Jersey air quality map.
Filtering a New York Home Without Ductwork
A large share of New York housing has no filter slot, which makes every MERV recommendation irrelevant. Prewar apartments downstate run on steam heat with window units or PTACs. Upstate, older houses run on boilers, cooled by window units or mini-splits.
The honest answer for both: a portable HEPA air cleaner sized to the room where you sleep is the highest-value purchase available to you. Filterbuy does not make one, and would rather say so than sell a filter that fits nothing you own. The screen behind a window unit or PTAC grille is washable mesh with no MERV rating.
Where Filterbuy can help: mini-split filters, room air-cleaner filters and custom sizes for the odd slots in older buildings, where nothing is standard. The size is printed on the frame of whatever is in there now.
What the July 2026 Smoke Week Changed About Our Advice
July 2026 ran both of New York's warm-weather hazards at once. Smoke arrived in the middle of an active heat emergency, so the advice to close the house up collided with the advice to stay cool.
DEC and the Department of Health opened the advisory on July 15, 2026 for three western regions, then widened it to all eight regions the same day. Western New York reached Very Unhealthy on July 17, two days after the first advisory.
Three things Filterbuy says differently now. Buy the filter in May, not in the middle of a smoke week. If the home has no cooling, do not seal it up: find conditioned air and run a HEPA cleaner in one room. And treat a western-region advisory as a two-day warning downstate.
Matching a Filter to the AQI on the Map
EPA recommends MERV 13 during smoke events, or the highest rating your system supports. Match the category on the live map to the filter below. Filterbuy has built filters in its own U.S. factories since 2013.
| AQI on the Map | Filter | Captures | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–100, Good to Moderate | MERV 8 | Particles 3–10 microns | Everyday dust, lint, pollen |
| 101–150, Sensitive groups | MERV 11 | Fine dust, dander, some smoke | Urban pollution, pets, mild allergies |
| 151+, Unhealthy and above | MERV 13 | PM2.5, wildfire smoke, bacteria | Smoke events, high-particulate days |
| Odor present at any level | Activated carbon | Smoke odor, VOCs | Pairs with MERV filtration during smoke |
Check the system first. A one-inch MERV 13 in a system built for fiberglass raises static pressure, and if it is not changed on schedule, airflow suffers. Read how MERV ratings are measured. Shop MERV 8, MERV 11, MERV 13 or the Odor Eliminator carbon filter.
"Two numbers decide whether a MERV 13 belongs in a house: the depth of the filter slot and the age of the blower. If the return is undersized, a MERV 11 changed on schedule moves more clean air than a MERV 13 that is choking it."
— David Clark, Licensed HVAC Technician and CEO, Filterbuy HVAC Solutions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the air quality in New York right now?
Use the live AQI map at the top of this page, which draws on EPA-referenced monitors and colors each reading to the six categories. Readings shift hourly and by region.
Is upstate New York's air cleaner than downstate?
On ozone, yes. Buffalo and Rochester passed all three measures in State of the Air 2026, while New York–Newark failed on ozone again. Passing is not clean, though: Rochester's daily particle grade is a D and Steuben County earned an F. Upstate wins on smog, not soot.
How often should I change my air filter during smoke season?
More often than the calendar says. Smoke loads a filter far faster than normal air, and EPA advises replacing it when it looks dirty rather than on schedule. Keeping a spare on the shelf through smoke season is the point of auto-delivery.
Do I need a MERV 13 filter in a New York City apartment?
Often you cannot use one. Prewar apartments on steam heat with window units or PTACs have no filter slot, and the grille screen carries no MERV rating. A portable HEPA cleaner in the bedroom is the better purchase. With a mini-split, use the manufacturer's slot and a filter cut for it.
About the Author and Reviewer
Michelle Wan is Brand Manager and Air Quality Writer at Filterbuy, where she writes and maintains the company's live air quality pages, including this one through New York's 2023 and 2026 smoke events. She works with Filterbuy's U.S. manufacturing team across its four factories, so her guidance starts from how filters are built and used.
David Clark is a Licensed HVAC Technician and CEO of Filterbuy HVAC Solutions, the Central Florida service company in the Filterbuy network. He reviewed the filter-to-AQI recommendations and the airflow cautions on this page.
Sources
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Air Quality Index Forecast and Current Observations (advisory regions, counties, averaging periods, weather-app guidance, monitoring network)
American Lung Association: State of the Air 2026 (metro rankings and grades, 2022–2024 EPA data)
U.S. EPA, Wildfire Smoke Factsheet: Indoor Air Filtration, EPA-452/F-18-005, and EPA Wildfire Smoke Course, Strategies to Reduce Exposure Indoors (the 24 percent and 50 percent indoor reduction figures, citing Fisk and Chan 2017)
New York City Emergency Management: June 2023 peak AQI figure
Office of the Governor of New York: June 19, 2023 regional air quality update
U.S. EPA and the Federal Register: 2015 ozone NAAQS designations and the July 25, 2024 reclassification of the New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island area to Serious
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of the Governor of New York: July 2026 Air Quality Health Advisories (regional sequence, same-day statewide expansion, Very Unhealthy forecast for Western New York)
New York City Emergency Management: July 2026 wildfire smoke response close-out (the 289 peak and the comparison with 465 in June 2023)
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Open Burning regulations (the March 16 to May 14 residential brush burning ban, the year-round prohibition on burning leaves and garbage, and open burning as the largest cause of spring wildfires)
American Lung Association: State of the Air 2026 metro releases for Buffalo, Albany and New York (grades, national ranks, unhealthy-day counts and the county driving each result)
Glossary
AQI (Air Quality Index): The EPA's 0-to-500 daily scale: Good 0–50, Moderate 51–100, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101–150, Unhealthy 151–200, Very Unhealthy 201–300, Hazardous 301+.
Air Quality Health Advisory: New York's official alert, issued by region when forecast ozone or PM2.5 will exceed an AQI of 100.
PM2.5: Fine particulate 2.5 micrometers or smaller. It is what high-MERV filtration targets.
Ozone (O3): A lung irritant formed when sunlight reacts with vehicle and industrial emissions.
MERV: Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, the 1-to-16 scale for how well a filter captures particles.
HEPA: High-Efficiency Particulate Air, capturing 99.97 percent of 0.3-micron particles. Used in portable cleaners, not residential HVAC.
