Fresno, California Air Quality
Fresno air quality today — the AQI, the main pollutant, and whether it’s safe to exercise outside right now
Fresno, CA · Air quality right now
The air quality index in Fresno, CA is 129 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) right now — a concern for sensitive groups.
Is it safe to be outside in Fresno today?
AQI 129 Use caution — Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Sensitive groups — asthma, heart conditions, kids, older adults — should limit prolonged exertion.Main pollutant: PM2.5Observed 7:00 AM PDT
Pollutants right now
- PM2.580 µg/m³Main pollutantfine particles — smoke, exhaust, soot
- PM1085 µg/m³coarse particles — dust, pollen, ash
- Ozone23 µg/m³smog — builds on hot, sunny days
- NO₂23 µg/m³nitrogen dioxide — traffic, combustion
ExerciseSensitive groups should shorten or move workouts indoors; others are fine.
Wildfire smoke & fire weather in Fresno
Smoke checkFine-particle (PM2.5) level right now: 80 µg/m³ Unhealthy on the EPA PM2.5 scale. PM2.5-based; smoke is one possible source — traffic, industry, and dust raise the same number.
Wildfire smoke shows up in air-quality data as fine-particle (PM2.5) pollution — it’s the number that climbs when smoke moves in. A Fire Weather Watch from the National Weather Service means critical fire-weather conditions — dry fuels, low humidity, gusty wind — are possible in the next day or two; a Red Flag Warning means they’re happening or imminent. On smoky days, EPA and AirNow guidance is to limit time outdoors, keep windows closed, run filtration if you have it, and wear an N95 if you must be outside. See where smoke and storms sit right now on the live weather map.
Cleaner-air gear
- Levoit Core 300S True-HEPA Air Purifier
A true-HEPA purifier captures the PM2.5 that drives most bad-air days — wildfire smoke, traffic, smog. Run it in the room you sleep or work in; the air you breathe for hours matters most.
- 3M Aura N95 Respirator Masks (20-pack)
A well-fitted N95 filters the fine particles cloth and surgical masks miss — the right protection for going outdoors on a smoky or Unhealthy-AQI day.
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How to read Fresno’s air quality
Air quality is reported as the EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), a 0–500 scale set by whichever pollutant is worst at the moment — where an AQI under 100 is a safe day for outdoor activity in Fresno and above 100 people with asthma, heart conditions, the very young, and older adults should start to scale back.
For the full six-category scale — every band, its color, and the pollutants behind the number — see the AQI scale guide.
Air quality over time in Fresno
Across the EPA’s county records from 2020 to 2025, Fresno’s cleanest year was 2025 (median AQI 61) and its most polluted was 2020 (median AQI 76); the typical (median) day has trended cleaner since 2020.
| Year | Median AQI | Unhealthy+ | Main pollutant | USG | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 76 | 40 | PM2.5 | 59 | 192 | 75 |
| 2021 | 68 | 19 | PM2.5 | 63 | 221 | 62 |
| 2022 | 71 | 3 | Ozone | 67 | 217 | 78 |
| 2023 | 64 | 3 | Ozone | 55 | 210 | 97 |
| 2024 | 67 | 14 | Ozone | 65 | 216 | 71 |
| 2025 | 61 | 3 | Ozone | 31 | 226 | 105 |
“USG” is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI 101–150); “Unhealthy+” combines the Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, and Hazardous days. In 2024 the EPA tightened the annual fine-particle (PM2.5) standard to 9 µg/m³ from the previous 12 µg/m³, so counties near the old limit read worse against the new one. Source: EPA AQS annual summaries, 2020–2025.
Frequently asked
- What was the worst year for air quality in Fresno?
- In the EPA's 2020–2025 county records, 2020 had the most days above AQI 100: 99 days (59 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 40 Unhealthy or worse). It also had the highest median AQI, 76.
- How many unhealthy air days does Fresno have?
- Across 2020–2025, 19% of the days reported for Fresno's county had an AQI above 100 (422 of 2192), about 70 days a year. 2025 had 34 days.
- What's the main air pollutant in Fresno?
- Ozone drove Fresno's county AQI on the most days in 4 of 6 years (2020–2025); PM2.5 in 2020, 2021.