Salt Lake City, Utah Air Quality
Salt Lake City air quality today — the AQI, the main pollutant, and whether it’s safe to exercise outside right now
Salt Lake City, UT · Air quality right now
The air quality index in Salt Lake City, UT is 50 (Good) right now — safe for outdoor activity.
Is it safe to be outside in Salt Lake City today?
AQI 50 Yes — air quality is Good
Air is clean — great for outdoor activity.Main pollutant: PM2.5Observed 8:00 AM MDT
Pollutants right now
- PM2.513 µg/m³Main pollutantfine particles — smoke, exhaust, soot
- PM1013 µg/m³coarse particles — dust, pollen, ash
- Ozone14 µg/m³smog — builds on hot, sunny days
- NO₂31 µg/m³nitrogen dioxide — traffic, combustion
ExerciseOK to run — no air-quality limits on outdoor exercise.
How to read Salt Lake City’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 Salt Lake City
Across the EPA’s county records from 2020 to 2025, Salt Lake City’s cleanest year was 2020 (median AQI 54) and its most polluted was 2022 (median AQI 60); the typical (median) day has trended cleaner since 2020.
| Year | Median AQI | Unhealthy+ | Main pollutant | USG | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 54 | 2 | PM2.5 | 21 | 200 | 143 |
| 2021 | 59 | 9 | Ozone | 39 | 195 | 122 |
| 2022 | 60 | 0 | Ozone | 28 | 236 | 101 |
| 2023 | 54 | 1 | Ozone | 15 | 200 | 149 |
| 2024 | 54 | 5 | Ozone | 38 | 173 | 150 |
| 2025 | 57 | 1 | Ozone | 15 | 228 | 121 |
“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 Salt Lake City?
- In the EPA's 2020–2025 county records, 2021 had the most days above AQI 100: 48 days (39 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 9 Unhealthy or worse). The highest median AQI came in 2022 (60; 2021's was 59).
- How many unhealthy air days does Salt Lake City have?
- Across 2020–2025, 8% of the days reported for Salt Lake City's county had an AQI above 100 (174 of 2192), about 29 days a year. 2025 had 16 days.
- What's the main air pollutant in Salt Lake City?
- Ozone drove Salt Lake City's county AQI on the most days in 5 of 6 years (2020–2025); PM2.5 in 2020.