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Scottsdale, AZ Air Quality Index (AQI) Today

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By BreatheCheck Editorial — no named author, deliberately. Why a verifiable pipeline beats a byline →

Right now:Scottsdale is at 29, good.

Is the air safe to breathe in Scottsdale today?

29 Good “Unhealthy for everyone” starts at 151 — not 201.

Go

Normal outdoor plans. No change needed.

Short & unloaded

A 20-minute dog walk, not a 2.5-hour run. Keep it brief and easy.

Don’t go

Move it indoors. Above 200 that becomes everyone, not just sensitive groups.

Duration and intensity are two separate dials

Verdict by duration and intensity at AQI 29
Under 20 min20–60 minOver an hour
Easy Go Go Go
Moderate Go Go Go
Hard Go Go Go

Where people actually draw the line

All the thresholds people reported, and who reported them
  • 60 Asthmatic runnerone runner’s own 156-run log
  • 75–100 Daycare / schoolparents and staff in one r/toddlers thread, Aug 2025 — not a published rule
  • 100 Parentcommunity-reported, escalating at 150 and 200
  • 110 Runnercommunity-reported

EPA classifies 101–150 as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. That is an attributed classification, not a verdict on your lungs specifically.

If you’re staying in, filter the room you’re actually in

A portable HEPA unit or a Corsi-Rosenthal box — one builder put theirs at about $130 for a 12×14 bedroom. We don’t default to a MERV-13 swap in whole-house HVAC: it can restrict airflow, and the safe version needs a static-pressure check first.

See options

Dominant pollutant

O3

UV index

— modelled

UV hour by hour in Scottsdale →

Forecast

— pipeline

The receiving end of the Phoenix plume

Scottsdale occupies the northeast rim of the Salt River Valley, and its ozone is set by that position rather than by anything inside the city. Daytime heating drives valley flow up toward the northeast, so the nitrogen oxides and volatile organics put into the air across central Phoenix during the morning commute spend hours travelling in strong sunlight before they reach this end of the valley. What arrives at the rim is largely finished product rather than ingredients.

Maricopa County has carried EPA nonattainment status for the 70 ppb eight-hour ozone standard for years. The season opens earlier and closes later than the northern equivalent, because the photochemistry here never waits on warmth to arrive, and the high numbers come on hot afternoons from spring through early fall.

Dust is the second story and an unrelated one. Dry soil, disturbed ground and monsoon-season haboobs push PM10 up in ways that are impossible to miss out a window. Ozone is the opposite. It has no color and no smell, and on the worst ozone afternoon of the year the sky over the McDowells looks the way it looked the day before. A resident looking outside has good information about one of these two pollutants and none at all about the other.

Where this number sits

Of the 121 US metros reporting to us right now, Scottsdale is number 92 and number 3 of the 3 we track in Arizona. The pollutant driving it today is O3.

Nearby metros we also measure, and what they read at the same hour:

Why a metro a short drive away reads differently →

Where this reading comes from

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, with 43 nearby sensors.

Local sensors around Scottsdale median 22 at the same hour — a 7-point lower read than the monitor. The gap, across every metro →

Our history for Scottsdale so far

Daily maximum, our own readings. 2 days since 2026-08-16; nothing back-filled. Why we keep our own →

0 of the 2days we have recorded so far went above AQI 100.

Questions about Scottsdale

What is the air quality in Scottsdale right now?

AQI 29 — Good. That is number 92 of the 121 US metros reporting to us at this hour.

Which monitor does this number come from?

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Local sensors median 22 at the same hour, a 7-point difference. One instrument reports for the whole metro, so the side farthest from it is the least well described.

How does Scottsdale compare with metros nearby?

At this hour: Phoenix 55, Tucson 39, Las Vegas 31, Las Cruces 28. A gap that size over that distance usually means different terrain, traffic or wind rather than a broken sensor.

Does this include pollen?

No. The AQI covers PM2.5, PM10, ozone, NO₂, SO₂ and CO. A high-pollen day can read clean here and still put someone in bed.

What the number means, band by band → · UV in Scottsdale → · Why apps disagree →

Worst air in the US right nowWhere Scottsdale sits against 27 other metros, this hourWhat the number meansEPA bands, and where “unhealthy for everyone” starts

Updated