Arizona · AirNow reporting area

Tucson, AZ air quality

The Air Quality Index in Tucson is 39 (Good) as of 3:00 AM MST on Wed, Oct 28, with Fine particles (PM2.5) as the main pollutant. Today's forecast: AQI 44, Good (Ozone). Tomorrow: AQI 37, Good (Ozone). Preliminary data from the EPA AirNow program, reported by Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Updated Oct 28, 2026, 6:12 AM EDT (snapshot)

Current AQI

AQI now

39Good

3:00 AM MST, Wed, Oct 28

By pollutant

  • PM2.5: 39Good
  • Ozone: 31Good
  • PM10: 30Good

Yesterday's highest AQI

42Good

Ozone, Tue, Oct 27

What this AQI means for your health

Good (AQI 0–50). Air pollution is low and is not expected to affect health. A good day to be active outside.

These are general guidelines based on EPA's AQI categories, written in our own words. See the full AQI scale.

Air quality forecast

Daily AQI forecast issued by Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Some areas forecast a category without a number.

AQI forecast for Tucson
DayForecastPollutants
Today, Wed, Oct 2844GoodOzone 44 · PM2.5 32 · PM10 24
Tomorrow, Thu, Oct 2937GoodOzone 37 · PM2.5 36 · PM10 25
Fri, Oct 3034GoodOzone 34 · PM2.5 29 · PM10 21
Sat, Oct 3135GoodOzone 35 · PM2.5 29 · PM10 22

Monitor readings

Latest hourly NowCast AQI at 11 monitors assigned to or near this area. NowCast weighs recent hours more heavily so it reacts faster to changes. Distance is from the area's center point.

Monitors for Tucson (hour starting, local time)
MonitorHourPM2.5 AQIOzone AQIPM10 AQIPM2.5 µg/m³Miles
Geronimo2 AM53—23133
Craycroft & 22nd St.2 AM—15——4
South Tucson2 AM——23—5
Children's Park2 AM2914—55
Orange Grove2 AM12—1709
Ted Walker Park2 AM17——310
Saguaro National Park - East2 AM—31——11
Tangerine2 AM—24——15
Coachline2 AM234—315
Fairgrounds2 AM—11——16
Corona de Tucson2 AM——9—19

Last 12 hours

Highest hourly NowCast AQI among the monitors above, for each hour (MST).

Hourly AQI, highest monitor
Hour startingPM2.5 AQIOzone AQIPM10 AQIMonitors
2 AM53312311
1 AM39313011
12 AM46313611
11 PM48324811
10 PM41333211
9 PM36332811
8 PM28383011
7 PM29392911
6 PM27412511
5 PM26411711
4 PM23431511
3 PM19441410

Hourly monitor values from AirNow HourlyAQObs files, latest hour Oct 28, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT. Single-hour readings can be missing or revised.

Protecting yourself on bad air days

When the AQI is high, spend less time being active outdoors, keep windows closed if the outdoor air is worse than indoors, and run a portable HEPA air cleaner or your central system with a high-efficiency filter (MERV 13 or higher if your system can handle it). When fine particles or smoke are the problem, a well-fitted N95 respirator gives much better protection than a cloth or surgical mask. Read more on our wildfire smoke page.

Shopping for an air cleaner? Compare air purifiers on OpenPicks, our sister site.

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Sources

  • Current AQI, yesterday's maximum and forecasts: U.S. EPA AirNow reporting area file (files.airnowtech.org), as of Oct 28, 2026, 6:12 AM EDT.
  • Monitor readings: AirNow HourlyAQObs files (hourly NowCast AQI and raw concentrations).
  • Reporting agencies: Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Pima County Department of Environmental Quality. These agencies own the data and are the authority for forecasts and advisories.
  • Values are shown as received from AirNow. See AirNow partners for the full list of agencies.

Preliminary data. AirNow readings and forecasts come from federal, state, local and tribal air quality agencies. They are not fully verified, may change, and must not be used for regulatory or official decisions; official data are in EPA's Air Quality System. For the latest official readings and advisories, check AirNow.gov and your state or local air agency.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have symptoms or a health condition, follow your doctor's guidance.

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