New Castle, Pennsylvania Air Quality
New Castle air quality today — the AQI, the main pollutant, and whether it’s safe to exercise outside right now
New Castle, PA · Air quality right now
The air quality index in New Castle, PA is 32 (Good) right now — safe for outdoor activity.
Is it safe to be outside in New Castle today?
AQI 32 Yes — air quality is Good
Air is clean — great for outdoor activity.Main pollutant: PM2.5Observed 11:00 AM EDT
Pollutants right now
- PM2.56.8 µg/m³Main pollutantfine particles — smoke, exhaust, soot
- PM106.9 µg/m³coarse particles — dust, pollen, ash
- Ozone59 µg/m³smog — builds on hot, sunny days
- NO₂3.9 µg/m³nitrogen dioxide — traffic, combustion
ExerciseOK to run — no air-quality limits on outdoor exercise.
How to read New Castle’s air quality
Guides: The AQI Scale, Explained · Air Quality Alerts, Decoded · How to Read a Wildfire Smoke Map · Why Wildfire Smoke Travels 1,000 Miles.
Air quality over time in New Castle
Across the EPA’s county records from 2020 to 2024, New Castle’s cleanest year was 2024 (median AQI 24) and its most polluted was 2022 (median AQI 37); the typical (median) day has trended cleaner since 2020.
| Year | Median AQI | Unhealthy+ | Main pollutant | USG | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 31 | 0 | Ozone | 0 | 9 | 354 |
| 2021 | 31 | 0 | Ozone | 0 | 19 | 259 |
| 2022 | 37 | 0 | Ozone | 2 | 18 | 223 |
| 2023 | 34 | 0 | Ozone | 1 | 12 | 254 |
| 2024 | 24 | 0 | Ozone | 0 | 0 | 31 |
“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, 2020–2024.
Frequently asked
- What was the worst year for air quality in New Castle?
- In the EPA's 2020–2024 county records, 2022 had the most days above AQI 100: 2 days (2 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 0 Unhealthy or worse). It also had the highest median AQI, 37.
- How many unhealthy air days does New Castle have?
- Across 2020–2024, under 1% of the days reported for New Castle's county had an AQI above 100 (3 of 1182), about 1 day a year. 2024 had 0 days.
- What's the main air pollutant in New Castle?
- Ozone: it drove New Castle's county AQI on the most days in every year of the EPA's 2020–2024 records.