Breathing easy: Air quality index

When you step outside, you probably think about whether you need a jacket for the cold, or a raincoat if it might rain. Do you wonder about the quality of the air you’re breathing? Understanding air quality might seem complicated, but it affects your health every single day, especially during our wildfire seasons and cold winter months when wood stoves are burning.

The Air Quality Index, or AQI, is like a thermometer for the air around us. It measures how clean or polluted the air is on any given day. The scale runs from zero to five hundred, with lower numbers meaning cleaner air. When the number is between zero and fifty, the air is considered safe for everyone. Numbers between fifty-one and one hundred mean the air is acceptable, though some very sensitive people might have minor concerns. Once the AQI climbs above one hundred, everyone should start paying attention because the air quality is becoming unhealthy.

The index measures many pollutants that can hurt our lungs. These include tiny particles, called PM2.5, are so small you cannot see them with your eyes. These particles come from wood smoke, vehicle exhaust, and wildfire smoke. During our long winter months, wood stoves create a lot of these particles, and they can get trapped near the ground when cold air settles into our bowl-shaped valley. Other pollutants the index tracks include ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide.

In the Mat-Su, there are only a few stations using special scientific instruments that pull in air samples and measure the different pollutants automatically. These are in Willow, Big Lake, Wasilla, Palmer, and Chickaloon. The equipment is very sensitive and can detect even minor changes in air quality throughout the day and night. There are also inexpensive private monitors of air quality that are viewable from apps like PurpleAir, though government agencies do not regulate or use these.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, often called DEC, is the agency responsible for monitoring air quality across our state. They work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, known as the EPA, which sets the national standards that Alaska must follow. The DEC not only watches the monitors but also enforces rules when air quality gets too poor or when someone is creating too much pollution.

When air quality reaches unhealthy levels, the DEC can issue advisories warning people to stay indoors or limit outdoor activities. They can also investigate sources of pollution and require changes if businesses or other sources are violating clean air standards. For individual homeowners, some cities and the state have rules about outdoor burning, and the DEC provides guidance on proper wood stove use to reduce smoke.

Finding current air quality information is easier than you might think. The DEC maintains a website where you can check the current AQI for Wasilla and other Alaska communities. You can visit dec.alaska.gov and look for their air quality section. Another helpful resource is airnow.gov, which shows air quality across the entire country on an easy-to-read map with color codes. Green means good air, yellow means moderate, and the colors get darker as air quality worsens. You can see the private monitors at www.purpleair.com.

You can also sign up for air quality alerts through these websites. During wildfire season or winter inversions, these alerts can help you plan outdoor activities and protect your family’s health. These alerts often help schools and sports programs decide whether they should cancel outdoor recess or practice. They can also help you decide if you really want to take that walk and risk upsetting your asthma.