Bad Air Days in Blount County, Tennessee: 2 a Year

2 bad air days a year

About the middle of monitored US counties. Ranked 482 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.

What makes them bad: a mix of particles and ozone (41% particle days).

Which months to watch

Most bad days here fall in June and April and November. 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.

The worst days on file

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 41 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, 2. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2023, with 8 bad days on 365 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2016-11-14	161	PM2.5
2016-11-08	158	PM2.5
2023-07-17	137	PM2.5
2023-06-28	129	Ozone
2023-06-29	126	PM2.5

Most days, not the worst ones

Across 3,653 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Blount County rated Good on 64% of them, less often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 35%. The median day sat at AQI 45; one day in ten went above 61.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

ozone53%1,930 days
fine particles (PM2.5)47%1,723 days

Every recent year on file

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	365	261	103	1	0	44	101
2024	366	221	145	0	0	47	90
2023	365	224	133	8	0	46	137
2022	365	238	126	1	0	45	115
2021	365	231	132	2	0	44	107
2020	366	273	93	0	0	42	93
2019	365	223	140	2	0	46	115
2018	365	205	159	1	0	48	108
2017	365	197	167	1	0	49	105
2016	366	273	87	6	2	44	161
2015	364	284	79	1	0	41	105
2014	364	259	105	0	0	42	97
2013	365	282	82	1	0	42	105
2012	366	250	109	7	0	44	126
2011	365	206	126	33	1	48	154
2010	365	204	131	30	0	48	147

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

Nearby counties on file

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, and on why a purifier does not touch ozone in smoke vs ozone.