Air Quality, Inside & Out: When to Worry, How to Check It

January 17, 2025: We're resharing this post about air quality due to the recent California wildfires that have people thinking about smoke inhalation. It was originally written during the 2023 Canadian fires, when smoke impacted air quality in several states.

Winter Alert: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

But here in Virginia, we're facing power outages from snow, wind, and ice. We face air quality concerns within our homes, not outside, from carbon monoxide (CO). According to Christopher Holstege, MD, director of UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center, carbon monoxide can poison your inside air via:

• Clogged or leaky gas furnaces or chimneys
• Portable power generators
• Warming up vehicles in garages
• Kerosene or propane heaters
• Woodstoves
• Gasoline-powered tools
• Charcoal or gas grills

Carbon monoxide poisoning is lethal. Read on for Holstege's advice on CO poisoning prevention.

Why Air Quality Matters

Clean air is crucial for your health. Breathing polluted air can worsen breathing issues like asthma. When you have breathing issues, it's important to pay attention to the air quality in your area.

How Can I Check the Air Quality Around Me?

Air quality is measured using the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI tells us how clean or polluted the air is. You can see what the AQI is in your area by visiting AirNow.gov and putting in your location.

The AQI scale ranges from 0 to 500. The higher the number on the AQI, the more pollution there is in the air. A lower number means the air is cleaner and safer to breathe. The AQI also gives information about the possible health effects of air quality at different levels.

The scale uses colors to show how polluted the air around you might be. Green and yellow are for low AQI numbers (under 100). Green means there isn't any risk from air pollution. Yellow is when someone who is very sensitive to air conditions might start to feel some health effects.

The AQI then goes to orange, red, purple, and maroon as the air quality gets worse. You're more likely to have health issues if the AQI in your area is one of those colors.

What Factors Affect Air Quality?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are 5 major pollutants (harmful materials in the environment, both man-made and natural) that can affect air quality:

• Particle pollution (also known as particulate matter)
• Carbon monoxide
• Ground-level ozone
• Sulfur dioxide
• Nitrogen dioxide

The current smoky haze is a kind of particulate matter pollution (tiny pieces of dust, dirt, smoke, or other stuff in the air that you're breathing). The size of these particles matters: the tinier they are, the more likely it is that they'll get deep into your lungs. They may even wind up in your bloodstream.

Their size is directly linked to how likely they are to affect your health. Particulate matter pollution (PM) is measured using micrometers. You might see reports showing measurements like PM10  and PM2.5:

• PM10: inhalable particles, 10 micrometers and smaller
• PM2.5: fine inhalable particles of 2.5 micrometers and smaller (smaller than PM10; these particles pose a greater risk)