Air quality index numbers

[brenda]

Anyone else here who has to keep tabs on the AQI for their area?

Jon, I thought of you right away, and then decided to ask everyone.

I watch it and have an alarm set on my phone. I can handle an AQI of up to 70. By 80, I start to feel it, and by 90 I need to get indoors.

Minnesota has been dealing with the smoke from Canadian forest fires, and many of you probably have, too. Has it bothered you, and if so, in what ways and to what degree?

[89th]

Yeah it’s been (another) summer with quite a few smokey days. Luckily we aren’t affected much by it, even into the AQI 100s.

[jon-nyc]

I keep an eye on it I don’t want to ride my bike if it’s over 65 or 70. I comfort myself that I usually ride on a trail, which is probably cleaner air at 70 than roadside biking is at 35, given the particulate matter coming from exhaust, brakes, trucks, etc. Back in 23 it got real bad here. This was the GW Bridge in June of 2023. Fucking Canadians.

[AndyD]

AQI 55 in London which will be the worst in our small country; but an uncomfortable nightime temperature of 19 degrees

[brenda]

@jon-nyc Holy smokes indeed!

I figured you would be watching the numbers. Your situation is much more serious than mine, but your assessment of the numbers and the locational factors are spot on for my experience as well.

I just started using the AQI alert system, because I can't smell the smoke until it's way too far over my tolerance level. Hubby smells the smoke long before I do, so he's my second alert system when he's home.