Bad Air Days in Buncombe County, North Carolina: under 1 a Year

under 1 bad air day a year

Fewer bad air days than most monitored US counties. Ranked 730 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 November and June. 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 record for Buncombe

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 12 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, under 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2016, with 8 bad days on 366 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2016-11-13	173	PM2.5
2016-11-14	160	PM2.5
2016-11-23	158	PM2.5
2016-11-12	152	PM2.5
2016-11-22	149	PM2.5

Most days, not the worst ones

Across 3,648 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Buncombe County rated Good on 74% of them, close to the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 25%. The median day sat at AQI 41; one day in ten went above 57.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

fine particles (PM2.5)64%2,321 days
ozone36%1,327 days

Buncombe County by year

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	365	268	97	0	0	40	97
2024	365	245	120	0	0	43	81
2023	365	261	104	0	0	43	99
2022	365	291	74	0	0	38	74
2021	365	278	87	0	0	41	81
2020	363	329	34	0	0	34	97
2019	365	277	88	0	0	42	84
2018	364	261	103	0	0	40	93
2017	365	254	111	0	0	43	84
2016	366	247	111	8	4	43	173
2015	363	256	107	0	0	41	87
2014	364	226	138	0	0	45	93
2013	365	255	110	0	0	43	97
2012	366	209	155	2	0	47	150
2011	364	192	172	0	0	49	100
2010	364	162	198	4	0	52	119

*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.