Outdoor air in the United States is cleaner now than it used to be because of air pollution controls. However, air pollutants from sources like traffic or wildfire smoke can still harm people’s health. Wildfire smoke can come from a nearby wildfire or travel hundreds of miles, appearing like haze in the sky and containing gases and particles that can affect your health even far from the fire. The Missouri Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Program shares data on air quality in Missouri.
How is Air Quality Monitored?
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources runs air monitors to check if air quality meets standards, track pollution trends, and find pollution sources. These monitors measure harmful pollutants like ground-level ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. Particulate matter includes particles that are 10 micrometers or less in diameter, like dust, soot, or smoke (PM10); and tiny particles that are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter and can reach deeply into the lungs when breathed (PM2.5).
Seek medical help right away if you have any unusual symptoms, like racing heart, shortness of breath or feeling very tired.
Air Quality Data
Missouri EPHT - Air Quality Query
Search this query to find:
Highest annual average concentrations of ozone, PM2.5, and PM10
Number of days ozone, PM2.5, and PM10 concentrations were above EPA's air quality standard
Percent of days ozone, PM2.5, and PM10 concentrations were above EPA's air quality standard
Number of days the Air Quality Index (AQI) was good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive populations, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous
Percent of days the Air Quality Index (AQI) was good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive populations, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous
Other Data Sources
Other data sources provide additional air quality data.
The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
Missouri Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) is a program within the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. EPHT is part of a network of people and information systems which delivers a core set of health, exposure, and hazards data, information summaries and tools to enable analysis, visualization and reporting of insights drawn from data. Those insights are intended to help data drive actions and improve community health.