Bad Air Days in Bell County, Kentucky: under 1 a Year

under 1 bad air day a year

Fewer bad air days than most monitored US counties. Ranked 694 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.

What makes them bad: mostly particles: smoke and dust (88% particle days).

Which months to watch

Most bad days here fall in June and July and November and March and April. Averaged over 2016 to 2025.

What actually helps here

Bad air days are rare here. A standard furnace filter is enough; no purifier needed for outdoor air.
On the odd bad day, check AirNow and keep windows shut.

Better or worse than it was

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 21 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, under 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2023, with 3 bad days on 365 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2016-11-14	165	PM2.5
2023-06-29	131	PM2.5
2023-07-17	130	PM2.5
2016-11-08	115	PM2.5
2021-07-21	112	PM2.5

An ordinary day in Bell

Across 3,126 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Bell County rated Good on 70% of them, close to the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 29%. The median day sat at AQI 43; one day in ten went above 58.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

fine particles (PM2.5)51%1,597 days
ozone49%1,529 days

Bell County by year

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	361	242	118	1	0	42	101
2024	365	244	121	0	0	44	88
2023	365	185	177	3	0	49	131
2022	365	197	168	0	0	48	91
2021	364	164	198	2	0	52	112
2020	263	242	21	0	0	34	74
2019	263	238	25	0	0	40	77
2018	256	224	32	0	0	39	84
2017	263	231	32	0	0	40	80
2016	261	230	29	2	1	39	165
2015	261	227	34	0	0	39	77
2014	266	208	58	0	0	42	93
2013	264	225	39	0	0	40	80
2012	259	151	104	4	0	47	133
2011	263	190	73	0	0	44	97
2010	264	158	99	7	0	48	115

*2025 may be a partial year in EPA's file.

Kentucky compared

How this is counted

A bad air day is a day the county's daily AQI from EPA AirData went above 100, the level where EPA tells children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease to cut back outdoors. Monitors do not run every day, so yearly counts are scaled to 365 days. This is the record, not today's air: for that, check AirNow. More on the method in how the county numbers are made, on the AQI 100 line in what counts as a bad air day.