Worst air quality in the US right now
Right now the worst air among the 106 metros we measure is Miami, FL at AQI 87 — Moderate. We track 28 of roughly 380 US metropolitan areas, so this is the worst reading we can see, not a national maximum. A city we do not monitor can be worse at this moment and we would not know.
The ten worst at this hour
| # | Metro | AQI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FL Miamino page yet | 87Moderate | |
| 2 | GA Atlanta | 83Moderate | |
| 3 | AL Huntsvilleno page yet | 81Moderate | |
| 4 | OH Clevelandno page yet | 76Moderate | |
| 5 | TN Nashvilleno page yet | 74Moderate | |
| 6 | KY Louisvilleno page yet | 73Moderate | |
| 7 | TX Dallasno page yet | 72Moderate | |
| 8 | OK Tulsano page yet | 70Moderate | |
| 9 | WA Spokane | 69Moderate | |
| 10 | KY Lexingtonno page yet | 68Moderate |
By state
| State | Worst metro | AQI | Metros tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| FL | Miamino page yet | 87 | 2 |
| GA | Atlanta | 83 | 2 |
| AL | Huntsvilleno page yet | 81 | 2 |
| OH | Clevelandno page yet | 76 | 2 |
| TN | Nashvilleno page yet | 74 | 1 |
| KY | Louisvilleno page yet | 73 | 2 |
| TX | Dallasno page yet | 72 | 2 |
| OK | Tulsano page yet | 70 | 2 |
Worst right now is not worst on average
An hourly ranking answers a different question from an annual one. At any given hour the top of this table is usually decided by what is burning or what is trapped under an inversion that morning — a metro can sit mid-table for eleven months and lead the country for a week.
Annual rankings move far less. The San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles basin appear near the top of long-run PM2.5 and ozone lists in most years, because their sources are geography and traffic rather than weather. If you are choosing where to live, the annual picture is the one that matters. If you are deciding whether to run today, this table is.
Questions
Who has the worst air quality in the US right now?
Among the 106 US metros we measure hourly, Miami, FL is highest at AQI 87 (Moderate). We do not track every US city, so this is the worst reading we can see, not a national maximum.
What state currently has the worst air quality?
We rank states by their worst tracked metro, which is a floor rather than a verdict — a state with one monitored metro is being judged on one city. The table above shows how many metros each state rests on.
What are the 10 worst US cities for air pollution?
The list above is the worst ten right now, which is a different question from the worst ten on average. Hourly rankings are dominated by whatever is burning or inverting today; annual rankings are dominated by the San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles basin almost every year.
What is the dirtiest country in the world?
We do not measure it. This site covers US metros only, and we would rather say so than repeat a global ranking we have not verified.
Updated