Alaska Air Quality: The Seasonal Shape

Q: Which months have the worst air quality in Alaska?

In EPA's monitoring record for 2020 to 2024, the worst stretch in Alaska is November through January. January leads: 6.6% of monitored days reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse and 33% were at least Moderate, with the index most often set by fine particles (PM2.5). December runs second. The month-by-month chart on this page shows the full shape.

Q: Does wildfire smoke affect Alaska?

Yes, episodically. Alaska's ordinary calendar is winter inversions, summer boreal fire, but smoke transport can override it in a bad continental fire year; the worst single day in the five year record was AQI 325 on June 30, 2024. Smoke days arrive with the wind, not the calendar, which is exactly what the live NWS alert feed on this page is for.

Q: What is the cleanest month for air quality in Alaska?

May, in the 2020 to 2024 record: only 3% of monitored days even reached Moderate, and 0.0% went beyond it. If you are choosing a month for a visit or an outdoor project on air quality grounds, that is the statistical answer.

Q: Where do I check the live AQI for Alaska today?

AirNow.gov, EPA's official public AQI service, publishes the current reading and forecast at its Alaska state page. This page adds the calendar (which months are like this every year, and why) plus the live NWS alert products above, reproduced as issued.

Q: How is this monthly calendar computed?

From EPA's Air Quality System pre-generated daily AQI files, the official regulatory record: every daily AQI value for every monitored Alaska county, 2020 to 2024, grouped by calendar month into EPA's six categories. The snapshot is rebuilt annually when EPA finalizes a new year. It is climatology, not a forecast: it says what the months are usually like, not what next week holds.

Winter inversions, summer boreal fire. Which months are worst in Alaska, why, and what the EPA record actually shows.

Worst stretch in the EPA record: November through January

Worst month

January

Cleanest month

May

Season type

Winter inversions

Alaska air quality at a glance

EPA record, 2020 to 2024

January

worst month

6.6% of days USG or worse

fine particles

sets the index then

statewide, in January

AQI 325

worst single day

June 30, 2024

May

cleanest month

3% of days even reach Moderate

Computed from EPA's official daily AQI record for every monitored county in Alaska, 2020 to 2024. Shares are of monitored county days, so they describe how often air somewhere in the state crossed each line.

The calendar

Which months are worst for air quality in Alaska

The chart below is five years of EPA's regulatory monitoring record, 2020 to 2024, folded into a single year: for each month, the share of monitored days in each official AQI category, in EPA's exact colors. Under each bar is the pollutant that most often set the index that month, which is the mechanism in one word: ozone is a sunshine chemistry problem, PM2.5 in winter is a trapped-air problem, PM2.5 in late summer is usually smoke.

JanPM2.5

FebPM2.5

MarPM2.5

AprPM2.5

MayPM2.5

JunPM2.5

JulPM2.5

AugPM2.5

SepPM2.5

OctPM2.5

NovPM2.5

DecPM2.5

Share of monitored days in each EPA AQI category by month, all Alaska counties with monitors, 2020 to 2024. Source: EPA Air Quality System daily AQI files.

The three worst months, ranked

January

6.6% of monitored days reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, and 33% at least Moderate. The index was most often set by fine particles (PM2.5). Worst single day: AQI 220 on January 1, 2024.

December

4.6% of monitored days reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, and 29% at least Moderate. The index was most often set by fine particles (PM2.5). Worst single day: AQI 170 on December 31, 2024.

November

2.5% of monitored days reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, and 25% at least Moderate. The index was most often set by fine particles (PM2.5). Worst single day: AQI 164 on November 19, 2020.

Ranked by share of days reaching Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, the first category EPA ties to health effects for anyone. A single bad fire year inside the window can move a month; that is not noise, that is what living with a smoke era means.

The mechanism

Why Alaska air goes bad when it does

Alaska holds both ends of the national spectrum: Fairbanks winters produce some of the worst monitored PM2.5 in the country under inversions, and big interior fire summers, like 2024's, blanket the same towns in June and July smoke. The coastal cities mostly sit out both seasons.

Extreme winter temperature inversions in the interior, where wood smoke at 40 below has nowhere to go, centered on Fairbanks and North Pole.
Boreal wildfire smoke in June and July fire seasons.

Historic photograph of smog blanketing Salt Lake City, the downtown towers barely visible under a brown haze layer pressed against the mountains — Smog blanketing Salt Lake City, photographed for the EPA's Documerica project in the early 1970s. A temperature inversion works exactly this way: a lid of warm air seals the valley and everything emitted underneath it stays. Alaska's valleys run the same physics on their own scale. “Smog Blankets Salt Lake City (Documerica)” — Bruce McAllister, US EPA, NARA 544791 — Public domain

Live, as issued

Air quality alerts in Alaska right now

These are the active National Weather Service air quality products whose zones touch Alaska, reproduced as issued with the issuing office attached. An Air Quality Alert is written by or for your state's air agency; NWS also issues its own smoke, dust and stagnation advisories. Each is reproduced in full.

Checking api.weather.gov for active air quality alert products…

Today's AQI is at AirNow

EPA's AirNow page for Alaska publishes the current reading and the official forecast, fed by the same agencies whose alerts appear above. This page carries the other half of the picture: which months are like this every year, and why.

EPA air sampling instruments on tripods inside a fenced monitoring site, with a technician in an EPA contractor shirt walking past — EPA air sampling stations at a monitoring site. Every number on this page traces back to instruments like these: the monthly chart is computed from EPA's official daily AQI record for every monitored Alaska county, 2020 to 2024. “EPA Air Sampling Stations” — US EPA — Public domain

Reading the index

The AQI scale, in EPA's words

Every category on this page uses EPA's official names, ranges and colors, quoted rather than paraphrased. The line that matters most for planning is 101: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, the first category EPA ties to health effects, and the threshold the worst-month ranking above counts.

AQI	Category	What it means
0 to 50	Good	Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
51 to 100	Moderate	Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
101 to 150	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected.
151 to 200	Unhealthy	Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
201 to 300	Very Unhealthy	Health alert: The risk of health effects is increased for everyone.
301 and higher	Hazardous	Health warning of emergency conditions: everyone is more likely to be affected.

Category names, index ranges and colors are reproduced exactly from the US EPA, Technical Assistance Document for the Reporting of Daily Air Quality (EPA-454/B-24-002, May 2024), Tables 1 and 2. Meanings quoted from AirNow.gov, AQI Basics.

Who EPA means by sensitive groups

When this pollutant has an AQI above 100	EPA lists these sensitive groups
Ozone	People with lung disease, such as asthma; children, including teenagers; people who are active outdoors; and older adults.
Fine particle pollution (PM2.5) and particle pollution (PM10)	People with heart or lung disease; older adults; and children, including teenagers. In addition, some minority groups, people with lower incomes, and outdoor workers may experience higher exposure that can worsen underlying health conditions.
Carbon monoxide (CO)	People with heart disease.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)	People with lung disease, such as asthma; children, including teenagers; and older adults.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)	People with asthma; children, including teenagers; and older adults.

What EPA says sensitive groups should do on an orange day

Sensitive groups: Make outdoor activities shorter and less intense. Take more breaks. Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. Plan outdoor activities in the morning when ozone is lower. People with asthma: Follow your asthma action plan and keep quick-relief medicine handy.
EPA cautionary statement for Ozone (8-hour), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, quoted from the US EPA, Technical Assistance Document for the Reporting of Daily Air Quality (EPA-454/B-24-002, May 2024), Table 5.

Sensitive groups: Make outdoor activities shorter and less intense. It's OK to be active outdoors but take more breaks. Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. People with asthma: Follow your asthma action plan and keep quick relief medicine handy. People with heart disease: Symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, or unusual fatigue may indicate a serious problem. If you have any of these, contact your health care provider.
EPA cautionary statement for PM2.5 (24-hour), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, quoted from the US EPA, Technical Assistance Document for the Reporting of Daily Air Quality (EPA-454/B-24-002, May 2024), Table 5.

Everything above is EPA’s language, quoted. On any day that matters, the decision belongs with the official product for your location and your own clinician.

Downtown Seattle skyline nearly erased by dense wildfire smoke, with traffic moving on Interstate 5 in the foreground — Downtown Seattle disappearing into wildfire smoke on September 11, 2020. Even states far from the fire belt now plan around weeks like this: smoke rides the continental wind, and the calendar question is when your corridor opens. “Smokey skyline view of Downtown Seattle from Rizal Bridge - Sept 11, 2020” by SounderBruce, CC BY-SA 4.0

Closer to home

Alaska metro pages

Statewide numbers blur the places where the question is actually asked. This metro has enough of an air quality calendar to deserve its own page, with the same five year EPA record cut to the metro area.

Common questions

Alaska air quality FAQ

Which months have the worst air quality in Alaska?

Does wildfire smoke affect Alaska?

Why is air quality bad in Alaska in January?

What is the cleanest month for air quality in Alaska?

Where do I check the live AQI for Alaska today?

What does Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups actually mean?

EPA's definition, verbatim: "Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected." It covers AQI 101 to 150, shown in orange. Who counts as a sensitive group depends on the pollutant; for ozone EPA lists "People with lung disease, such as asthma; children, including teenagers; people who are active outdoors; and older adults." The full pollutant-by-pollutant table is on this page, quoted from EPA's Technical Assistance Document.

Should I run or exercise outside today in Alaska?

Check the current category on AirNow, then apply EPA's cautionary statement for that category. For orange days and ozone, EPA's guidance reads: "Sensitive groups: Make outdoor activities shorter and less intense. Take more breaks. Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. Plan outdoor activities in the morning when ozone is lower." The equivalent statements for other pollutants are quoted in the scale section above.

How is this monthly calendar computed?

An airport control tower barely visible through dense orange wildfire smoke during the June 2023 Canadian smoke event over the New York area — The New York City area at midday on June 7, 2023, under Canadian wildfire smoke. The episode ended the idea that distance from the fire belt is protection: every calendar on this site now carries a smoke wildcard. “Quebec Canada Wildfire Smoke Consumes New Jersey and New York City June 7 2023” by Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0

Everywhere else

Air quality seasons in other states

Alaska tick forecastThe other thing to check before a long outdoor day, especially in brushy or grassy country.Alaska mosquito forecastWarm stagnant evenings that hold haze are the same evenings mosquitoes love.Air quality seasons nationwideSmoke, ozone, inversion and dust seasons across every state, on one page.

Monthly figures are computed from EPA Air Quality System daily AQI files (public domain regulatory data), 2020 to 2024, refreshed annually. Alerts are read live in your browser from api.weather.gov and reproduced as issued. AQI category definitions are EPA's, quoted verbatim. Today's measured reading is on EPA's AirNow page for Alaska.
Hero image: “Salt Lake City smog haze skyline 01” by Eltiempo10, CC BY-SA 4.0