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Austin, TX Air Quality Index (AQI) Today

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Right now: Austin is at 55, moderate.

Is the air safe to breathe in Austin today?

55 55Moderate “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 55
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

  • 60 Asthmatic runnerone runner’s own 156-run log
  • 75–100 Daycare / schoolWA 75/80, MN 100 — confirmed; most states not studied
  • 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

PM2.5

UV index

— modelled

UV hour by hour in Austin →

Forecast

— pipeline

Where this number sits

Of the 114 US metros reporting to us right now, Austin is number 36 and number 5 of the 5 we track in Texas. The pollutant driving it today is PM2.5.

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

A metro reading differently a short drive away is normal: monitors sit where they sit, and terrain, traffic and wind do not respect a city boundary.

We have not written a guide for Austin yet. The 28 metros with one earned it through months of research into what actually drives their air. This page gives you the reading, the verdict and our own record; the writing comes when we have something to say that is specific to this metro rather than generic. How we measure →

Where this reading comes from

Austin, about miles from the metro centre, with nearby sensors.

A station miles from where you stand under-reports whichever side of the metro sits farthest from it.

Our history for Austin so far

Daily maximum from readings we recorded ourselves — the worst the day got, which is the number a decision turns on. We hold 1 day so far, starting 2026-08-16. The chart fills in as we measure; nothing is back-filled.

0 of the 1 day we have recorded so far went above AQI 100.

Questions people ask

What AQI should you stay inside?

It depends who is asking. A runner community-reports 110; a parent around 100; one asthmatic runner’s own 156-run log put their cutoff at 60. EPA classifies 101–150 as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups — an attributed classification, not a verdict on your lungs.

Is it safe to exercise outside today?

Duration and intensity are separate dials. A 20-minute easy walk and a two-hour hard run at the same number are different decisions.

Why does another app show a different number?

Different averaging windows, different stations, and some apps substitute a neighbouring city when the local feed drops. Our method →

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

Updated