Comments on: Planning Trips – All about the Air Quality Index

By: Trip Report: the Uinta Highline Trail – Smoke and Ash. – Rafael A. Mujica

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 16:47:26 +0000

[…] two days. To become more familiar with reading AQI and how it can affect you, take a look at this article written by […]

By: Colorado Jones

Colorado Jones — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 13:41:52 +0000

In reply to Paul Mags. Thanks, Paul! Very helpful!

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 22:35:13 +0000

In reply to Colorado Jones.

The AQI stations are less common. To get the exact numbers, the IQAir shows the actual monitoring stations.

As for calling off a hike, it all depends on the person
I think the IQAir chart seems reasonably accurate. A high orange for me is my limit. YMMV.

By: Colorado Jones

Colorado Jones — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 03:31:46 +0000

Thanks for compiling this information, Paul! Following AQI is a bit frustrating because of the wildly different numbers posted by different sources. For example, the readings here in Aurora, CO as of a few minutes ago are: IQAir, 70 AQI; AirNow, 100 AQI; and Accuweather.com, 73 AQI. While IQAir and AirNow both indicate that their readings are moderate (51-100), Accuweather designates 73 as “poor.” I’m not entirely sure what to make of these descrepancies.

Perhaps a more productive question is this: At what level AQI should I consider calling off a hike? I did a 12 mile mountain hike today with air quality at ~110 AQI (according to AirNow) and felt fine but, judging from the amount of haze in the air, not sure if that was a smart choice. Up until today, I’ve pretty much spent the week doing indoor exercise due to the much, much higher AQI (180 this past weekend and, then, 140-150 the past few days).

Of course, having the N95 in one’s emergency kit just in case conditions change abruptly is probably not a bad idea.