Air Quality Awareness Week is here!

This week we aim to increase air quality awareness - which we strive to do year round - but especially this week because it's Air Quality Awareness Week! Below, we've broken the week up into themes and gathered air quality information to keep you "air aware" each day.

Monday, May 4 - Wildland fires and smoke

Unfortunately, as winter snowpacks dwindle and summers get hotter and drier, wildfire severity can increase. We work with the Washington Departments of Natural Resources and Health, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Weather Service to track wildfire smoke. To check current air quality conditions and stay updated on wildfire smoke in your area, take a look at the inter-agency Washington Smoke Blog. During wildfire season, Ecology's air quality map is the place to go for air quality information and 5-day smoke forecast.

Burn bans are another critical tool to protect human health and air quality. You may not know this, but there are two types of burn bans. When wildfire danger is high, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, local fire districts, and Tribes call a fire safety burn ban to restrict outdoor burning, such as campfires and debris burning. In colder months and when the outside air is unhealthy, Ecology, local clean air agencies, and Tribes can call an air quality burn ban to restrict indoor and outdoor burning, including limiting some wood stove use. Before you burn, check for and follow any burn bans in your area.

Tuesday, May 5 - Asthma and your health

Smoke is made up of gases and particles (also called particulate matter or PM) that are harmful if inhaled. The most harmful type of particle pollution has particles that are 2.5 micrometers or smaller (PM_2.5) - smaller than a grain of sand or the thickness of a human hair. Most of these tiny particles aren't stopped in the throat and nose. They pass into the lungs and bloodstream, increasing risk of an earlier death in people with heart or lung disease and worsening serious health problems such as heart attacks and asthma.

In a recently published report, we found that most health outcomes associated with inhaling PM_2.5 - including asthma, respiratory, and cardiovascular conditions - were more common in 16 Washington communities that we identified as overburdened and highly impacted by air pollution. To help reduce the harmful effects of air pollution and protect human health, Ecology tracks air pollution with our network of air quality monitors across the state, in partnership with local clean air agencies and Tribal nations.

Wednesday, May 6 - Indoor air quality

As summers get hotter, indoor air quality becomes even more important. To help keep indoor air quality as clean as possible, you can use an indoor air filter or make a low-cost clean air fan using just a few basic materials. Or consider other budget air filters on the market. You can also use a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your furnace to reduce indoor air pollution. Just remember to change your filters when they get dirty!

While Ecology focuses on improving outdoor air quality, if an opportunity arises to improve indoor air quality, we don't turn it down! During the first half of 2025, we helped to distribute nearly 6,000 air purifiers, 10,000 replacement filters and plant 2,500 trees and shrubs. This was accomplished with funds from the Climate Commitment Act and focused on South King County - one of the 16 overburdened communities highly impacted by air pollution.

Thursday, May 7 - Air, animals, and plants

We know that plants and animals are sensitive to air pollution, just like people. Some of them, known as sentinel species, can be early indicators of how healthy our environment is or isn't. The most well-known example of this is the "canary in the coal mine." This expression comes from a time when canaries were used to alert people working in mines to the presence of odorless carbon monoxide gas. Canaries are affected much sooner than humans because of their faster metabolisms.

Salmon and oysters are two other sentinel species whose health reveals a lot about toxics in the water. Some of these toxics come from air pollution. Airborne particulate matter can travel great distances, wash into storm water, infiltrate ground water, or become buried in aquatic or terrestrial soils. Everything is interconnected. We regulate over 400 toxic air pollutants that negatively impact the air, water, and flora and fauna around us.

Friday, May 8 - Air quality resources

One of the most important things you can do to protect your health is to know what the AQI is. What is the AQI? The Air Quality Index! By checking the AQI in your area, you can tell if the air quality is good (green), moderate (yellow), unhealthy for sensitive groups (orange), unhealthy for everyone (red), very unhealthy (purple), or hazardous (dark red). Each color also corresponds with a numeric range and each level comes with recommended actions and precautions.

You can check the AQI in your area in real time on the Washington Air Quality Map anywhere you have an internet connection. You can also download the air quality mobile app called "Air Quality Washington" from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Both our map and app use data from our air monitoring network in partnership with EPA, Tribes, and local clean air agencies.

Watch Duty (available online or as a mobile app) is an excellent resource for tracking wildfires across the U.S. The map also has an air quality layer to check real-time conditions near active fires.