Weather Guide

What an Air-Quality Number or Level Means

How to read an air-quality number or level as useful local context without treating every scale as directly comparable.

An air-quality number or level is a compact way to communicate outdoor-air conditions. It can help you decide whether to check more detail before spending time outside, especially when smoke, haze, ozone or particle pollution may affect the day.

Start with the label and local context

Different places can use different indexes, ranges, labels and calculation windows. A number from one scale is not automatically interchangeable with a number elsewhere. Read the displayed level, local guidance and the time it represents before making comparisons.

Many air-quality systems communicate both a level and the pollutant driving it. Fine particles, larger particles and ozone are common examples. Looking at the contributor helps explain why conditions changed.

Use it for planning, not diagnosis

As conditions rise into categories that indicate greater concern, some people may need to take more care sooner than others. Children, older adults, pregnant people and people with heart or lung conditions may have different needs. Follow local public-health guidance and personal medical advice when either applies.

Air quality can change during the day. A current reading, a forecast and a daily summary can therefore tell slightly different stories. They are useful together, rather than competing answers.

In SkyFeels

SkyFeels shows the available air-quality value or level with pollutant details where available. It is meant to make the forecast more informative, not to replace local notices or healthcare guidance.